


It Don't Mean a Thing

by TheNightMother



Series: Start Me Up- Drabbles and One Shots [10]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Caught, Creampie, Drug Use, Drugged Sex, Dubious Consent, Exhibitionism, F/M, Face Slapping, Fluff, Gratuitous Smut, Hard Switch Up, Hurt/Comfort, Large Cock, Lingerie, Masturbation, Masturbation in Shower, Mild Puppy Play, Nicknames, Oral Sex, Panties, Porn With Plot, Praise Kink, Rough Sex, Size Difference, Size Kink, Stockings, Strength Kink, Tenderness, Vaginal Fingering, Voyeurism, submissive Danse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:49:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23234263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNightMother/pseuds/TheNightMother
Summary: “I need to apologize, civili-...Anna. I was distracted and didn’t secure the perimeter and I’m the cause of the pain you are in now.”“Hush now Dansey Pants. I appreciate the apology but it really isn’t necessary. Cambridge is a dangerous place and as I said, the ferals didn’t need dinner. I’m glad you had the same idea and saved my ass.” She groaned softly when she stretched out on the mattress. “Not matter how much pain I may be in because of it. Can you go get my pack before Sticky Fingers goes through it again?”The hydraulics of his suit hissed as he stood and moved quickly, returning with her bag.“Rhys was in the same place you left him. And may I say. I haven't seen a dressing down like that since my days at the Citidel. I am impressed with your knowledge of the Brotherhood, for someone who seems to misunderstand everything we stand for.”---------------------------------------Let's Play, Some Brotherhood timeline
Relationships: Paladin Danse (Fallout)/Original Female Character(s), Scribe Haylen/Knight Rhys (Fallout)
Series: Start Me Up- Drabbles and One Shots [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1513367
Comments: 24
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

It had taken 20 minutes after finishing the stupid experiment inside of Cambridge Polymer Labs so find a way to store and transport the  Peizoneucleic Chest piece in her pack and Anna shifted the weight slightly as she headed along the coast. Cambridge was crawling with  ferals but she spent enough days traveling around the area now that she had little problem avoiding them. Her  PipBoy pleasantly played Dream a Little Dream of Me as she sang along softly under her breath. If she remembered correctly, this was the tape she had put together that had Ella Fitzgerald as well. 

Her aluminum baseball bat was slung over her shoulder as she looked out over the water and sighed softly. It was quiet other than the music coming from her wrist and Anna thought about sitting to enjoy the scenery for a moment when the sound of laser fire and the snarling of ferals broke her from her peaceful mindset. The snarls weren’t directed at her but she was nearly certain that anyone in this area would become overrun quickly without at least a little bit of help. She didn’t want the  ferals to have more food so she set off in the direction of the laser fire.

Her radio pinged to remind her of the anomalous broadcast signal in the area but the sounds of the gun fight were drawing closer and she turned the volume knob on her  PipBoy up to cover all the annoying sounds as she rounded the corner and watched the silhouette of a feral lumber and throw itself into the well-fortified barrier that had been set up. Anna smiled and reached for the  Psyco in her back pocket before she followed suit, throwing herself into the fray just as the first few bars of Ella  Fizgerald’s Don’t Mean A Thing began to play. 

Her bat made contact with a few skulls as she sang along quite happily, before she heard the male voice above the others which soured her mood.

“Civilian in the perimeter! Check your fire!”

Civilian? She had heard anyone use that sort of language since-

A man in a full suit of power armor stomped into view and fired, taking out the ghoul that was scrambling towards her shins in the process. Anna slid the back of her hand along the knobs of her  PipBoy in a practiced move, cranking the volume of her music up as loud as it could as she nodded to the Paladin. Then she was off, singing along and swinging her bat into the knees and heads of  ferals as they can across her path and giggling internally at the irony of the song.

Don’t mean a thing if it  ain’t got that swing indeed.

Ferals seemed to pour in from every exposed point in the barricade. They climbed and clambered, attempting to bite off chunks of exposed flesh with the eternal hunger that they seemed to possess. However, the three Brotherhood soldiers fought well around Anna’s manic flailing, the other male who was without power armor laughing at the insanity of a 5-foot-tall woman taking down a feral in a single bloody swing to an upbeat tune. They seemed to take care of the infestation quickly and Anna sighed as she reached down to turn the volume knob back down as she approached the man incased in metal. 

“We appreciate the assistance, civilian. But what’s your business here?”

“What’s yours Paladin?” Anna ran a bloody hand through her short black hair, pulling at the messy spikes and stopped herself a good few foot away from the him before she shifted her weight onto one leg, popping her hip out and resting her hand there. Still she had to crane her neck to look at his face. “Last I heard, the  Commonweath has no clean water to steal. So what? Came here for tech then? Why  don’t you, fuck boy knight and little miss scribe over there just stomp your thieving asses all the way back to the Capitol Waste-” A jarring sensation knocked the last syllable from her throat as a feral jumped on her back and slammed its bony claw into the back of her head. The last thing Anna heard as the world faded to black was the hiss of hydraulics.

Sinatra. Sinatra playing low in the background was the first thing Anna was aware of as she regained consciousness. Immediately she relaxed, it wasn’t likely anyone else in the Commonwealth had that track, so she had to assume she was somewhere safe with someone she could trust. Still something nagged at the back of her head. Her body hurt, like she had been standing the blast radius of a mini-nuke but without the sickness that came from the radiation. It was also chilly, colder than anyone who knew her would allow the room to stay if she was knocked out. She shifted with a pained groan and worked to crack open her eyes and focus on her surroundings. 

“Paladin  Danse , Sir. She’s waking up.”

That set her heat racing, even if the woman’s voice was very soothing. Light glinted off of the scribe’s goggles as they hovered into Anna’s line of sight and she winced and tried to shift away, struggling to sit up. 

“ Woah there civilian. Slow down. You have undergone a great deal of trauma. We should have been more diligent in securing the perimeter.”

Memories of the fight started to flood back as she hauled herself up into a seated position and looked at the three other people in the room. The Brotherhood patrol seemed to have set themselves up quite well, the windows barricaded and secure, the floor cleared of rubble and three separate work stations. As for the patrol themselves, they looked worse for the wear. The scribe’s eyes were surrounded with dark rings, her cheeks sunken in with hunger and trauma as she smiled at Anna. The knight was slumped against the far wall, looking at her with a thin veneer of disgust of cover the obvious pain he was in. The Paladin,  Danse from the sounds of it, stomped over from the corner, the hiss of hydraulics loud as he crouched down in his power armor.

“Anna. My name is Anna. I thought I would never be called civilian again after leaving the Capitol. I don’t even  wanna know why you guys had come all the way up here.”

“To secure-”

Anna held up her hand quickly and was pleasantly surprised when the Paladin stopped talking. “Look big boy, I said I don’t want to know. I heard your fight and figured the  ferals in the area didn’t need extra dinner tonight. I don’t really have any desire to actually get to know you, though I want to thank...You,” She looked around to find the scribe again and pointed at the other woman, “specifically for the medical care.  Gonna assume you are the CO here,  Dansey Pants? Pass it along to your superiors. This woman deserves a promotion.”

Anna almost laughed at the expression that crossed  Danse’s face at her flippant disregard of his name and everything Brotherhood. “Well Miss... Anna. You seem to know a bit about the Brotherhood. I assume you are from the  Captiol Wasteland?”

“There  abouts , yeah.”

“Well then you should know that the Brotherhood did not steal the water from-”

Anna raised her hand to cut him off again and smiled widely when he stopped mid-sentence. “Remember  Dansey Pants? Don’t care. I appreciate the medical attention and if I wasn’t so sure that your scribe over there might tackle me if I tried, I would have left the moment I was awake. Not even  gonna get into the fact that you have gone through my pack  _ or  _ the fact that you screwed with my  PipBoy and changed my music. Cause, well you know, not helping with the fact that I think you fucks steal everything right? You  kinda already proved my point?”

Danse’s mouth snapped shut and color dusted across his dark cheeks. Something about this tiny woman set off a memory deep within him. It took a moment or two of her speaking before the recognition hit him. Anna reminded him of the Senior Scribe in charge of Initiates back at the  Citidel . She had been a tiny force to be reckoned with as well and at 17 he had entertained the wildest teenage fantasies with a woman like that. That was before life caught up with him, and he threw himself into the Brotherhood fully

“Sorry Miss Anna. We were looking for some form of identification. Knight Rhys was curious to the content of all of your  Holo’s , and he had assumed that you may have had some unauthorized software. When we realized that it was all music... Well I take personal responsibility for this, but we were curious to some of the names we didn’t know.”

Disbelief crossed Anna’s face before it was quickly replaced with anger. “Identification...... In the Wasteland? You... Checked my pack for identification? Don’t lie to me Paladin. You went looking for tech, just like you fuckers always do. Surprised you didn’t try to take my Pip too!”

“You cannot address a Paladin in such manner Civilian!” Rhys finally broke hit stoic silence to shout at her from across the room. Anna glared at him as she hauled her legs under herself and grabbed for the closest wall to balance.

“I addressed your Commanding Officer, _ Knight _ , not you. Has the Brotherhoods training slipped so far since the Lyons that The Chain That Binds means nothing?”

Danse was smacked across the face with the power in her voice, how quickly he fell into a parade rest for the dressing down of another solider, and oddly enough, how tight his jumpsuit had become underneath his power armor because of it. 

Rhys went surprisingly quiet when Anna swayed slightly as she walked over to him. 

“Answer me Knight! Do you feel you have rank to speak for your CO?”

“No Ma’am”

“Then why try?”

Rhys didn’t answer, couldn’t even look up at her from his position on the floor. Anna’s eyes narrowed at him as she looked him over.

“My  holo , if you please, Knight.”

He reached into the neck of his jumpsuit and pulled the  holo he had hidden there and slapped it in her hand.

“A thief, and a rude one at that! Good thing it’s probably impossible to make me think the Brotherhood could be expected to produce anything else at this point.  Dansey Pants must have trained under Lyons. She was a fine warrior and it shows in how he handles himself. You, Rhys. Pathetic.” Anna pocketed the  holo and moved back to the sleeping bag that she had woken on, dropping herself heavily into it. 

“I’m sorry Scribe, I didn’t get your name.”  Danse looked at  Haylen , who had also eased herself into a parade rest and gave a slight nod. She might be confusing but at the very least Anna had already managed to correct Rhys’ attitude.

“ Haylen , Ma’am.”

“Scribe  Haylen . What exactly happened out there? I remember clearing the  ferals and weight on my back.”

“The feral attacked from behind Ma’am. Paladin  Danse was able to kill it but in doing so had to tackle the feral from your body.”

“So, I took a hit from a T-60 and what I am guessing is approximately 200 pounds of muscle underneath it. That explains the all over ache. Injuries?”

“Soft tissue damage mostly. I don’t think you broke any ribs but time will tell.”

“How long have I been out?”

Haylen was silent for a moment and it was Rhys who broke the silence.

“A day and a half.”

Anna blinked and rolled her shoulders experimentally, wincing at the pain it shot through her entire body. “How many  Stim’s did you use?” Anna grabbed her pack from where it had been left at the base of sleeping bag and started rooting through it to see if anything else was missing. Everything was in disarray and she frowned at that more than anything else. Just like the Brotherhood to come in and act like they own everything around them. 

“4 Ma’am”

“Drop that Ma’am shit,  Haylen . I know your organization. I have read your Codex. I am not part of the Brotherhood so don’t attempt to give me rank. You get 75 caps for the  Stims . I won’t part with any more. Do I have your medical approval to leave?”

Again,  Danse felt his brows knit together in confusion. This tiny woman had burst into the fray, saved them from being overrun by  ferals in one of the most insane performances of music and fighting he had seen and after dressing down one of his soldiers, she was now was asking his Scribe if she had approval  to leave. Was this a type of insanity that only came from living in the wilds of the Commonwealth after the civility of the Capitol?

“Ma- Anna.”  Haylen caught herself before she addressed her with rank again. “I.... I wouldn’t advise it. While you are in stable condition, you would be braving the Commonwealth with no back-up in a weakened state.”

“How long?”

“Three days? One week, at most. I promise. I need to make sure that you don’t die because we didn’t secure the perimeter.” Haylen’s voice wavered slightly.

Anna sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Fine. I’m taking one of the rooms for myself. I don’t trust Sticky Fingers over there.” She wiggled her fingers dramatically at Rhys and handed her pack to the Paladin expectantly. Anna stuck her hand out and with his free one,  Danse pulled her up as gently as he could. Still, she stumbled and reflexes took over, catching her with the arm of his power armor and dropping her pack to sweep her weak legs out from under her. He knew it couldn’t be true but it almost felt like her pack had registered more weight than she did.

“Put me down  Danse .”

It was the same tone she had used with Rhys earlier, and now he was more than happy for the protection that his power armor provided. He wasn’t worried that she could physically harm him, especially in her weakened state, but it did help to conceal the way his cock was straining against the material of his uniform.

“No, ma’am, you are not strong enough to be walking. You may use my quarters for the duration of your stay here. I can bunk in the main room for the time being.”

Anna huffed and crossed her arms but did not protest further so  Danse moved down the hallway to the room he had cleared and claimed for himself. The bed wasn’t as comfortable as the one he had on the  Prydwen but it was far more comfortable than most of the situations that they had found themselves in since their departure.

It wasn’t far, just down the hallway that lead off from the main room and he placed her on the mattress with great care, noticing the wince of pain despite his best efforts. He stayed kneeling, looking her in the eye when he spoke next.

“I need to apologize,  civili -...Anna. I was distracted and didn’t secure the perimeter and I’m the cause of the pain you are in now.”

“Hush now  Dansey Pants. I appreciate the apology but it really isn’t necessary. Cambridge is a dangerous place and as I said, the  ferals didn’t need dinner. I’m glad you had the same idea and saved my ass.” She groaned softly when she stretched out on the mattress. “Not matter how much pain I may be in because of it. Can you go get my pack before Sticky Fingers goes through it again?”

The hydraulics of his suit hissed as he stood and moved quickly, returning with her bag. 

“Rhys was in the same place you left him. And may I say. I haven't seen a dressing down like that since my days at the  Citidel . I am impressed with your knowledge of the Brotherhood, for someone who seems to misunderstand everything we stand for.”

“You say tomato, I say ta-fascist's”

Anna shrugged, and dug through the mess that her pack had become, smiling softly when her fingers wrapped around the  chem supply satchel she had put together. Hauling herself up into a seated position, unwrapping the two syringes of Med-ex she traveled with as well as a piece of rubber tubing before she tied her arm off.

Danse watched how practiced and methodical her movements where, taking note of the marks that scarred both arms. Maybe she was a junky, but anyone who jumped into a live fire fight with so little disregard for their own safety was probably practiced in using Med-ex to dull the pain, so maybe not. Still he couldn’t deny the way her hands were shaking

“Back when I lived in the  Capitiol , I ended up at the  Citidel at one point, thanks to the help of another very talented scribe. I don’t remember how  _ exactly _ but Sarah Lyons and I met. She brought me books as I healed up. Good woman.”

Danse could hear the pain in her voice, wondered __ how close Sarah Lyons and this woman had been to have her so upset over her death.

Anna sighed happily when the sting of the needle sinking into her skin was dulled by the half dose she administered. Just enough to dull the ache but not enough to push her past the pleasant fuzziness and into an actual stupor. Med-ex was always a fine balance.

She packed the  chems back up and frowned at the state of her pack when she tried to put them back inside.

“The brute messed up my entire pack. If I find a single thing missing, I am  gonna find a way to take it from his hide.”

“If he has disobeyed orders again, I promise that there will be serious consequences. You have my word as his Commanding Officer.”

“At this point  Danse I don’t think he cares much for the chain of command. I am willing to put his rudeness down to pain and embarrassment but the theft? That's inexcusable Paladin. You should have far better control of your soldiers.”

Hot shame burned through him and  Danse couldn’t bring himself to lift his eyes from the floor.

“Did you know Sarah,  Dansey Pants?”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“Well?”

“No Ma’am” Why? Why was he so willing to answer her? Why hadn’t she snapped had him for it, yet?

“Do you know what she would say in a time like this?”

“No Ma’am”

Anna laughed “Me neither.”

Despite himself,  Danse found a huff of laughter escaping him. “That... Was honestly not what I was expecting to hear you say.”

“ Ehh , profound is not my strong suit. I know she would be proud of you for helping me the way you have. That’s about all I got right now.” Anna giggled softly and blinked up at the hulking form still in power armor. “Hey  Danse ?” His eye brow quirked up at the way she said his name, her speech changing slightly as the Med-ex took hold properly. She had a little lisp, especially when saying something like his name. It was probably the most endearing thing he had heard in years.

“Yes?”

“You stuck in that thing?”

It got another sputter of laughter out of him.

“Not stuck, no. Just always on duty.”

“Well you got the turrets outside,  gonna assume those are already fixed up.”

He nodded. 

“Well then I’m pretty sure that you are good for tonight at least. Think we killed over half the ghouls in the general area. I come through here often enough and I haven’t seen that many in a long time. Since there isn’t a  Radstorm brewing I’m sure you got most of ‘ em . Take the night off solider.”

Something about the way she said it, brought him right back to being 17 years old and fantasizing about his instructor. How at the end of the lessons she would tell them to take the night off and he would hear it ringing like a command in his head hours later when his fist was wrapped around his cock.

Anna had leaned back and closed her eyes, listening to the Paladin’s steady breathing as the fuzziness of the Med-ex relaxed her muscles and the aches started to melt away. As much as she disliked what the Brotherhood had become, she enjoyed the company of the sweet Paladin who was so much more strained than the rest of his team. The hiss of his suit moving announced as he stepped away from the bed and Anna cracked an eye open in response. He was searching through the drawers of a cabinet, pulling a clean grey shirt and a pair of boxers from it.

“You should rest.  Haylen will have my hide if I were to keep you from it. Goodnight civilian.”

She smiled up at him, enjoying the way his brown eyes seemed to spread a comfortable warmth through her. “Anna,  Danse . My name is Anna. Goodnight Paladin and remember what I said. Take the night off solider. That’s an order.”

He had to cough to cover the sudden jolt of heat the words had sent down his spine. His situation was becoming uncomfortable and soon he was going to need to exit his power armor if only to adjust himself.

Anna giggled softly at the blush her words spread across his cheeks and at the way  Danse quickly retreated from the room. He was so timid alone, nowhere close to the commander who had taken control of an unruly variable in battle earlier. Anna quickly went through the motions of removing her  PipBoy and clothing, pulling on a fresh pair of shorts and a clean t shirt from her pack. While the early summer nights were still cool, the room was quite stuffy and she didn’t plan on being more uncomfortable than was necessary. 

She awoke a few hours later, body tired but far less sore than when she had first regained consciousness. Now what it was calling out for was a cigarette but even Anna thought it would be impolite to stink up the Paladin’s personal room so she pulled a thin blanket from her bag as well as a pack of cigarettes and her lighter before slipping her feet into her boots.

She rested her back against the wall and took a deep inhale off her cigarette. She could hear the sounds of a muffled radio playing as well as hushed conversation which drew her closer. Practiced ears picked up random snippets as well as the sounds of clothing being shifted and buckles being undone.

Haylen let out an unmistakable gasp, the moan that followed was muffled by what Anna could only assume was Rhys’ hand.

“ Shhhh shhh baby. You don’t want the precious Paladin to hear you now do you? Not when you're  gonna be  cumming on my cock in a few seconds.”

Rhys gruff voice was far deeper than it had been earlier today and Anna could hear the bedsprings creaking as the two of them rocked together but she just logged that information under mildly interesting and continued down the hallway to the main room she assumed she would find the Paladin in. Much to her surprise it was empty but for his well-maintained armor that stood guard over the room, an imposing silhouette in the dark. 

Anna concentrated on listening and followed the sounds of the radio down the southern hallway and smiled at the light that was pouring out from under the door marked Motorcade.  Danse was far better than the Brotherhood deserved, allowing his men to have at least some form of privacy and relaxation. She cracked the door quietly and slipped in to the slightly chilly space, humming softly with the tune playing from the radio.  Danse was leaned heavily on the workbench, boxers hitched low on his hips and his arm moving quickly. Anna could almost hear the wet slide of his palm along his cock as he worked himself. When he let out a suppressed moan, muttering something to himself through it, Anna couldn’t help herself. She cleared her throat softly and called out to him.

“ Dansey Pants?”

Every muscle in his body tensed, as he tried to quickly pull his boxers up to cover his cock. The fact that her voice only had him twitching, inching closer to the best orgasm he had be able to achieve in months,  was just a cherry on top of the sundae. When he turned to face her, his cheek’s where bright red, lips puffed from the way that he was biting them, and eye’s dark with arousal.

“Is this what you do with your night’s off Paladin? Let your subordinates enjoy the warmth of each other’s bodies, while your down here, fisting your cock all alone in the cold?”

Danse couldn’t even be sure she was real right now; she couldn’t be, his brain must have shorted out from pushing his desires back for too long and conjured up an all too real image of his current fantasy saying words that were ripped straight from his head.

“N-no Ma’am. I’m... I’m..” He couldn’t speak, couldn’t get his brain to form any sort of thought beyond the pulsing need that had his hands fiddling with the hem of his shirt as a subtle way to find some sort of friction and pleasure.

“Don’t stop on my account  Dansey . It’s unhealthy for a Commanding Officer to be as tense as you are. It will reflect badly onto your team.” She flicked the spent butt of her smoke into the corner and grabbed another from the pack to distract herself. She would have been lying to herself if she said she hadn’t been trying to get a peak under his power armor since she understood she wasn’t in danger and he was more mouth wateringly impressive than she had expected.

A whine escaped him and one large hand moved before he even had time to think, pushing the elastic of his boxers down enough that his cock sprung free. He could hear  Annas quick draw in of breath and a spike of pride shot through him. He knew he was proportional in every aspect, but the only woman who had seen him naked in months had been  Haylen and he was never aroused around her.

Anna leaned back against the wall and took long draw from her smoke, letting the tendrils curl over her upper lip softly before she exhaled a thin stream upward.

“Now, now  Dansey Pants. Why don’t you be a good boy and at least show me everything. I’m sure you were present when  Haylen stripped my armor. Bet you got a nice show then. It’s only fair.”

How was he going to argue with the truth? He had been present when  Haylen had stripped her to examine her body for injuries. How could someone so tiny, so frail, fight so fiercely? Just the thought of her in battle had him twitching again, a drop of  precum welling up on the head of his cock and dripping to the floor. Anna’s eyes were glued to the movement, and she moaned softly. 

He pushed the elastic of his boxers down lower, until it slipped off the thick muscles of his thighs and pulled his shirt off in one smooth movement, preening under the hungry look in Anna’s eyes. He could feel the way she lingered on the muscles of his chest and arms, even more so on the ink pressed into the skin on his chest. The Brotherhood logo stood out in harsh lines on his pectoral and she licked her lips as she spoke. 

“Fuck. While I may not like what the Brotherhood stands for.... but damn do you keep yourselves in peak condition. Continue Paladin. I want to watch. Make sure you actually take your night off properly.”

Danse leaned back on the workbench and wrapped his hand around the base of his cock tightly. This couldn’t be real, not when she was saying words that had him so close to exploding, not when she looked at him like she wanted to push him over and ride his cock till he bucked up inside her and filled her with his seed.

“Ma’am... I.. I...”

“What is it, Paladin? Nice and slow, right from the base to tip. I’m sure you know how to do it. Stroke that pretty thick cock. You Brotherhood are taught to take orders like good boys, right?”

His head frantically nodded in the affirmative and his wrist moved according to her instructions, nice and slow just like she had requested, toes curling at each swipe over the sensitive head. He could feel his orgasm barreling towards him like a freight train. It had been months since he had been afforded such a chance and the fantasy was too intense. Hell, he had already been close when his mind decided to take things in a different direction.

“A-An-Anna" He was trying, trying to follow her orders like was expected. The fantasy in his teen years had always ended when he couldn’t hold himself off, couldn’t wait for the command for his orgasm. That’s what he needed now, needed it almost a badly as he needed to breathe. 

“ Gonna explode Paladin? Come on  Dansey Pants. I  wanna see you shoot all over the floor. Show me the  _ virility _ the Brotherhood is known for.”

The shudder started at his toes and he couldn’t help the horse shout that escaped his throat when he felt the first wave hit. It was more intense than he had expected, his tight grip on the work bench the only thing that kept his knees from buckling under him and crashing face first into the floor. Quickly Anna was at his side, pushing his shoulders back so his weight didn’t take him forward despite his best efforts. She didn’t touch him anywhere besides the shoulder but the contact still set off a second round of shivers, thick gobs of cum dribbling over his fist to drip to the floor and join the impressive amount he had already spent. In all his memory he couldn’t imagine a better orgasm

The rest of the fantasy played out in a haze of perfection. Anna helped him back into his boxers and shirt, slipping her thin blanket around his shoulders as they walked inside and back up the stairs together. She got him a can of water from her pack and even sat up in the main room with him as he drank it a settled down into his bedroll for the first time that night, still wrapped up in the spicy-sweet scent that radiated from her blanket around his shoulders.

The most perfect fantasy he had ever had.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He could barely control his breathing, small little huffs escaping him. Anna had acted like nothing had happened this morning, like his sexual fantasies weren’t forever altered because of what she had done last night. 
> 
> Danse had to take a few minutes to get his breathing under control, remembering all of the battle training that he had been given. 
> 
> When confronted with a situation that you don’t understand, regroup and gather intel. 
> 
> Okay. 
> 
> Regroup. 
> 
> He pulled himself together, his mind going calm like he was entering battle and pushed his legs forward, one after the other towards the door back inside the station. Once he was inside, he moved with the grace he usually reserved for battle and straightened up further when he was finally at the closed door that marked his quarters and knocked quickly. 
> 
> “Come in Dansey Pants.” 

Danse awoke at dawn, as was usual, slipped into his power armor and went on a perimeter check. The corpses of the ghouls that had been killed the night before were piled just as he had left them, the turrets still chugging away happily.  Haylen was awake when he returned, looking far more chipper than she had the night before. As much as her and Rhys were a bad match, he didn’t fault them for falling into each other's arms for comfort.

The smell of morning rations wafted from the kitchen as well as the heavenly aroma of coffee. Rhys had found a few unopened tins when  scavving and they had all been enjoying the wonderful reminder of home.  Danse grabbed himself a chipped mug and poured a cup before returning to what  Haylen had started calling his “morning post”, the bulk of his power armor blocking up the only door frame in the small makeshift kitchen. 

Even though he had only been able to get a few hours of sleep, he was alert, refreshed and in a far better mood than he had been in months. He was amazed with his own imagination; how real everything had felt after so long. Usually he wouldn’t have fantasized about being watched but even thinking back to it had his blood pumping a bit faster.

He didn’t hear Anna approach but looked down as soon as he felt the slight impact of her knocking against his arm.

“Hey  Dansey Pants. Is that coffee I smell?” 

Danse’s mouth gaped open slightly, a blush raising to his cheeks just a little when she beamed up at him. The hydraulics of his suit hissed as he shifted to let her into the room and his teeth clicked together when his mouth snapped shut and he forced himself to swallow.

Anna’s pale legs were peeking out from one of his oldest and most stretched out shirts, it hung off her from shoulder to mid-thigh and she rubbed at her eyes as she padded over to the coffee maker. He hadn’t noticed how faded the Brotherhood logo had become until he was far more interested by how her nipples were visibly pebbled underneath it.

God.

This was going to make getting to sleep tonight even harder. Now when his brain snapped to a fantasy of her it would be torn between commanding or sleepy and swaddled in his t shirt. Anna hopped up on the counter and tucked one ankle behind the other as she sipped her coffee and they all fell into a weirdly companionable silence.  Haylen was the one to break it, asking Anna how she had slept, if she was in residual pain and Danse left the room with his mug. 

He felt stupid, letting his brain continue the fantasy after he had finished. Craving sexual release was one thing, but when he started craving contact, warmth... closeness? That was a dangerous mindset. It created weakness in a commander. A commander must be in control of himself at all times. The fact that his mind wandered after he had cum and found a way to make him feel like the fantasy Anna could actually care for him meant he was slipping. He needed to find a way to contact the  Prydwen , to get word to Elder  Maxson .

He could see as Anna moved from the kitchen back to the hallway that led to his room, cup of coffee still in hand.  Haylen crossed to him with a plate of rations in hand and a smirk as Rhys stomped off to his work station. 

“Sir.”

“Yes,  Haylen ?”

“The civilian appears to be in good health, the bruises and any crush damage from the power armor has been healed properly. Luckily there were no broken bones or we might have to stretch our resources thinner.”

Danse took the plate and ate quickly.

“How long do you think she will stay?”

“Three days at most. Any longer and I think Rhys might try to kill her. Slapped the  holo that he tried to steal into her  PipBoy as soon as you left then lifted her shirt to show how the bruises on her ribs were healing. Rhys nearly choked on his coffee.”  Danse laughed at that, not surprised at the boldness she displayed. Must have been why his brain had imagined her watching him last night.

“She’s a valuable asset Sir. Good in a fight and she seems to know both the Commonwealth and the Codex... in theory, at least. She may be able to help us.”

Danse stopped chewing mid-bite as he considered it.  Haylen was right. Anna was handy in a fight, if last night was any indication and did know the basic principles of the Brotherhood. Would she help them? Maybe, but not if he told her who was on board the  Prydwen or why they were actually in the Commonwealth. Anna seemed to think of the Brotherhood as little more than high tech Raiders and thieves even more so since  Maxson had taken over has High Elder. Telling her their mission was to carve a path for his arrival would more than ensure she left before she was fully healed. 

“She might be able to Scribe. But do we  _ want _ her to? As skilled in combat she appears, we cannot deny that she is a rogue variable in the battlefield.”

“Do we have many options, Sir? We have to get word to the  Prydwen . I’ve modified the antennae on top of the station but the signal just isn’t strong enough. Protocol dictates we need two to hold the secure position and that back up is required in the field.  ArcJet has the parts we need. What are we to do Sir? I think she may be our only hope at this point.”

He was inclined to agree and passed his plate back to  Haylen .

“Thank you  Haylen . I think you might be right about this. If we were on the ‘Wen would you clear her for duty?”

“If we were home, Sir, Cade would be doing this, not me. I wasn’t trained as a field medic. At least not to this degree. I am Order of the Sword, not Quill.”

Danse winced slightly at that, at how well  Haylen had been doing as their medic as their team slowly whittled down. The women's expression had gone stony and impossible to read. 

“I am sorry  Haylen . I... I forget sometimes.”

“Yes, Sir. Permission to be excused?”

“Granted, Ad  Victorium Solider”

Haylen nearly ran back into the kitchen and  Danse felt himself slump inside his power armor. He was horrible when it came to the emotional side of leadership, unable to comfort the people under him when it was needed most.

He straightened himself and sighed heavily, Eyes darting around the room for something to focus on in an attempt to compose himself.

Danse’s eyes fell on the rumpled mess of his bed roll and his brows knit together in confusion as the darker scrap of fabric that was pushed to the far side. He knelt down and pulled the fabric out, dropping it like it was on fire as soon as his brain registered what it was. A blanket. But not any of the issued blankets the squad kept. This was a well patched and maintained blanket that was washed frequently  and smelled spicy-sweet. It was the blanket he remembered wrapped around Anna when she caught him last night. The same one she had tucked around his shoulders after he....

Reality hit him harder than the ground when jumping from the  Prydwen . None of the night before had been a fantasy. Every single look, order and the soft touches that had followed had been real. 

No. 

It wasn’t possible.

He could feel his suit protesting as he pushed it to move quicker than is was designed to. He went to the motorcade, mind replaying the night before in flashes. She wouldn’t have just come in and... watched him, would she?

Cool morning air hit his face but did little to slow his panic when he crossed the few steps to the work bench and looked on the floor. Clear in the light of day was the splash of his dried cum on the floor and in the corner of the opposite wall, her two cigarette butts.

He could barely control his breathing, small little huffs escaping him. Anna had acted like nothing had happened this morning, like his sexual fantasies weren’t forever altered because of what she had done last night. 

Danse had to take a few minutes to get his breathing under control, remembering all of the battle training that he had been given.

_ When confronted with a situation that you don’t understand, regroup and gather intel. _

Okay.

Regroup.

He pulled himself together, his mind going calm like he was entering battle and pushed his legs forward, one after the other towards the door back inside the station. Once he was inside, he moved with the grace he usually reserved for battle and straightened up further when he was finally at the closed door that marked his quarters and knocked quickly. 

“Come in  Dansey Pants.”

The way it came out with her lisp had his brain shorting out, going back to the memories of how she sounded the night before. He didn’t remember opening the door or stepping inside but he wasn’t sure exactly how he stayed standing with the sight that greeted him. Probably should check the knee joints on his suit.

Anna was sprawled out on her stomach on the bed, her feet kicked up in the air and his long shirt hiked up over her pert rear. Every question he had come up on his way up here flew right from his head when he watched her hips sway from side to side to the beat of the music coming from her  PipBoy . His hands practically itched to reach out for the round globes. How long it been since he had actually been with a woman?

“Something wrong?”

Anna’s voice broke him from his staring but he still couldn’t keep his mind focused on talking to her when the dark blue fabric of her panties caught the light perfectly.

“ Ummm No... No Anna. I just. I  ahh wanted to... to talk to you... about...” He couldn’t bring himself to actually say what had happened the night before. If he said the words out loud it would be far too real. It would make it far too easy to ask for more.

Anna rolled onto her side and finally looked at him, smiling at the twitchy way he was moving, even in his tin can shell. So adorably timid in comparison to the stomping steps she had heard outside her door. She slid the bookmark in before closing the manual she was currently reading. 

“No need to mention it  Dansey . Unless you actually came here for something else?” She giggled softly when she moved and noticed the way  Danse was tracking her hands. She tucked her elbow into the crook of her waist and let her fingers walk along her hip and fiddle with the failing elastic on her panties. She could nearly hear  Danse swallow when she grabbed the hem of the shirt she had borrowed and pulled it down enough to cover herself.

He shook his head when he was finally able to form a full thought.

“N-no. No I came here to  ummm . To talk to you about...”

“About what Paladin? Why don’t you step out of the tin can and come sit with me? Then we can talk like humans, not Paladin and civilian. You owe me that much.” 

God the way she said his rank, like it meant nothing to her, like it was just another meaningless title. He didn’t know what he was if not a Paladin of the Brotherhood, but the way Anna smiled at him made him release the latch on his power armor and step out to join her when the suit allowed. The way she looked at him he could feel his ego swelling, pure satisfaction at the way she lingered on each swell of muscle.

Anna patted the bed next to her, face wrinkling up in laughter at the timid way he stepped toward his own bed. When he stopped a few steps from the edge, she stood and hooked a finger into the d ring that sat at the base of his throat.

“I don’t bite  Dansey . Not unless you ask real nice.” The muscles in his neck worked to swallow dryly and he could feel the heat radiating from his cheeks but couldn’t really bring himself to feel the hot shame that was actually burning in his stomach. Here he was, a Paladin of the Brotherhood of Steel who had been able to command his recon squad into uncharted territory and survive, reduced to a babbling mess by a woman who had to crane her neck just to look up at him. If  Maxson could see what had become of him, he would surely be shamed, maybe even demoted. His cock stirred at the thought.

Anna gave a gentle tug on the loop of metal and smiled when  Danse followed, finally bending to be on level with her before sitting on the bed. 

“You think too much  Dansey Pants. I can practically hear the gears turning in your head.”

The comment caused his brows to knit together in confusion, a sensation that was only deepened when she stepped forward and boxed in his knees with her own. He could stand,  _ should _ stand, should remove himself from this situation  _ immediately, _ but she was so tiny and had recently been injured...

Anna smirked as she laid one hand on his shoulder for balance and settled into his lap, giggling at the ways  Danse’s entire posture stiffened when she leaned forward. 

“Be a good boy and put your hands on my hips Paladin. I want you to hold me steady. You’re a comfortable chair and I don’t want to slip.”

Her skin was so warm under his hands as they slipped under the frayed hem of her borrowed shirt to settle on her hips.

“This..... Is highly inappropriate Ma’am.”

Danse shuddered when she started to rock her hips against his growing erection.

“It is, isn’t it, Danse? What would Maxson say? One of his prized Paladin’s, one that has been oh so well trained, being used for a filthy wastelander’s pleasure.”

That caught his attention through the fog of his arousal. Her pleasure? His hands moved on their own accord, pressing into the jut of her hip bones to tilt her back a bit as he looked down.

Fuck.

She was aroused as well... god, the way the loose fabric of her panties clung to her lower lips was going to be branded on his brain until he died. A broken whine escaped his throat when he looked back up at Anna, the green of her eyes nearly eaten up by the black of her pupils.

“A-Anna... I...”

She threw her head back and his eyes were drawn to the Brotherhood logo and how her nipples stood out against the gears that seems to dictate his entire life. The next roll of her hips was hypnotizing combined with her soft panting.

“ Shhhhh shhh Danse . Please, let me have this. Be good and listen. And I’ll give you a reward.” He could do that. He had proven he could be good, could follow her instructions and watching the way her body was shivering in his lap was more than reward enough. If she wanted to give him more for having self-control like he had been trained too, he could do that as well.

Anna let her weight fall forward and pushed her face into the crook of his neck and Danse felt a growl building in his chest. While he usually enjoyed the comfort and protection his jumpsuit provided, today it was a nuisance. He wanted to feel the smooth, wet fabric of her panties grinding against his bare cock. His fingers flexed against her hips again, pulling her down on him just a bit sharper and moaning at the pressure. It only lasted a second before he felt she pull back.

“If you want more Paladin, ask like a good solider. If you refuse too, I will assume you will follow my instructions.” Her voice was edging toward the cool commanding demeanor she had taken the night before and his traitorous cock twitched in response. A small grin broke on her face when she rocked her hips back against him. 

“Please Ma’am

“That’s a good boy.”  Danse whined, the words echoing around in his head. “Such a good boy for me.”

His hips bucked again and he could feel his self-control spiraling into oblivion when Anna dragged the fingers of her hand over the logo on her chest, tweaking her nipples through the material once before pushing her hand past the elastic of her panties. It was becoming impossible to control his hands, when he could see the fabric being bunch and pull as she rubbed her clit.

“I- I... Please Ma’am...”

“ _ Mmmmm. _ Such polite manners. Such a good boy.  _ Ahh _ _!  _ Wha -What was it you came to talk to me about Paladin?”

He could feel the way her thighs were tensing, could feel the frantic movements her hips where making, could almost feel the way her orgasm was building as if he was inside her. How was he supposed to focus on anything other than the tiny woman bucking in his lap? No woman had even ridden him like this and all his brain could focus on was just how close he was to being inside her. Even with the two layers of fabric the separated them, god, he could practically feel her.

“It was... um We... Help... We need help.”

“ _ Fuck yes!  _ You n-need my help. Ask me nice and proper P-Paladin. And you can have a little bit of your reward right now.” She was shaking, her fingers working in tight circles, and a blush creeping up her cheeks as she smiled.

“Please Anna. Help us.... Help me...” She fell forward again, resting her forehead against his, her soft panting spilling over his lips. It was more intoxicating than the best alcohol he had ever had and he realized just how close he was to his peak with very little stimulation. “Please, Ma’am... I’ll do anything”

Anna pressed their lips together, gentle, as the shudders started to take over her body and her hips jerked frantically against him. Danse knew the moment she actually kissed him that he wasn’t lying. He would do anything for her, anything at all the feel the soft pillow of her lips against his again and again. Anna jerked sharply and keened, the angle brushing pressure against the head of his cock and he drew in a harsh breath.

He was close, right on the edge of his own orgasm when Anna stilled and giggled in his lap, pulling her fingers from her panties, licking the tips of them delicately before dragging her nails down the thick material of his jumpsuit and cupping this ridge of his constrained cock through the material.  Danse whined in response, pushing himself into her palm frantically.

“Poor sweet boy. Anything you say? Let’s test that, shall we.” Anna stood from his lap and shimmied her panties down over her hips, the fabric pooling at her feet before she picked the scrap of fabric from the floor and draped it over his knee with a wicked grin and reached out and dragged her nails along the material that covered his cock. Even that light pressure had him shuddering as he could feel drops of  precum leaking from the tip.

“Can you be a good boy for me, Paladin?” Anna was leaned forward enough to rest her forehead against his again, nearly stealing the breath from his lungs with each touch.  Danse whined, trying and failing to be ashamed at the need in the sound. 

“Y-yes...”

“Cum for me... Right now. I hate how that uniform looks and I want you to stain it. Now Paladin.” It was the first time she had said his rank and not sounded mildly disgusted, and that with the gentle kiss she pressed to his lips  Danse couldn’t stop himself. 

“Oh God!” Anna pressed her mouth to his, harder, swallowing the words and deep groan of pleasure as his cock started twitching, her hand cupping him and spreading the mess as he shuddered harder each time she giggled happily or told him how good he was.

He hadn’t noticed when Anna crawled into his lap again or how she had wrestled the cowl of his jumpsuit down but when her fingers gently twined in his hair he couldn’t help the deep groan of appreciation that left him or the way he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his head into the Brotherhood logo that covered her small breasts.

“You are far too good for the Brotherhood  Danse , my dear. You follow instruction so well.” She tugged on his hair gently until he raised his face to hers with a smile and dropped a soft kiss to his lips. 

“Now  Dansey Pants... Take off the jumpsuit. Can’t be comfortable sitting in your own cum.” He nodded but made no move to undo any of the numerous buckles, choosing instead to bury his face deeper into the space between her breasts and inhale the spicy sweet scent that was Anna mixed with the Abraxo he used to wash his clothes. His head was floating, sheer perfection of the warm woman in his lap, nothing else in the world worth moving for. 

“Was that my reward Ma’am?” His deep voice was muffled by the fabric of her borrowed shirt and Anna laughed suddenly, tugging his hair gently until he looked at her again.

“Just part of it, Pet. You have been  soo good. Can you continue to be good for me  Dansey ?”

He nodded frantically, even as his body finally started to register the cooling mess at his groin.

“Good Boy. Let’s get you cleaned up.”  Danse’s hands flew the motions on autopilot, undoing the buckles and zippers that allowed him to peel the jump suit away from his skin. Anna rooted through her pack and produced a cloth and a can of water, dampening the cloth before passing  Danse the can.

“Drink. Then tell me what you can here to ask my help with Pet.” The Paladin blushed as she reached out with the cool cloth and wiped the remains of his spend from his skin.

“Well as you saw last night, I’m down a few men and our supplies are low. I have been trying to send a distress signal to my superiors but the signal is too weak.”

“ Maxson ?”

Danse nodded, his eyes turned down to the floor at the way she said his name.

“Yes.”

Anna scoffed but continued to handle him gently, pecking small kisses along his chest as she worked. It sent warring thoughts through his brain. She was so tender with him even though she seemed to hate his organization.

“ Haylen has modified technology here but we don’t have the range we need. However, recon has said that  Arcjet Systems would have the deep range transmitter technology we need. I would like to ask for your assistance in retrieving it.” He held his breath waiting for her response.

“Will you wear these?” 

Danse sputtered as he choked on his own tongue when she grabbed the panties from the floor and held them up for him.

“Excuse me Ma’am?’

“You heard me Pet. I will help you as soon as  Haylen clears me too  _ if  _ you’re a good boy and wear these for the rest of the day. You get the rest of your reward tonight as well if you can make it through the whole time. Send  Haylen and Sticky Fingers out for supplies today and meet me in the Motorcade tonight at 10  sharp .” Anna leaned in over him again and placed another soft kiss on his lips before dropping the panties into his lap.

“I am …. Not sure I can get  Haylen and Rhys to agree to leave the station.”

“Codex dictates back up in the field, does it not Paladin?”

“Yes Ma’am.” 

“Since I cannot join you in the field today, Rhys or  Haylen should go with you.... But I noticed a catch in the knee joint of your power armor last night during the fight. Could be very dangerous if it were to lock up in battle.” The sly smile that spread across her face told him all he needed to know. She understood that would be a breach or protocol, that the cCdex dictated the commander of the squad be the one the take the risk.

“Plus,  Dansey Pants... I know a few shops around here that haven't been picked clean. I am sure they would be better at  scavving than their commander.”

He shouldn’t... 

He shouldn’t even  _ consider _ such a breach of protocol. 

_ However... _

Danse grabbed the scrap of fabric from his lap and felt his cheeks burn hot as he rubbed the soft fabric between his fingers before poking his legs through the holes. He could do this, especially when he saw the way her eyes melted as the fabric stretched over the muscles of his thighs. It felt...odd but the tightness was similar to the way his jumpsuit felt. He might not have found it enjoyable if not for the hungry way Anna was raking her eyes over his body. A wave of boldness swept through him and he couldn’t help flexing slightly under her gaze.

“ Showin ’ off, pretty boy?”

He tucked his head down as he went looking through his possessions for his clean jumpsuit. His smile was unmistakable, breaking wide when Anna reached out to him to run her fingers along his thigh as he passed.

“Maybe Ma’am. You seem to enjoy it.”

She laughed and it encouraged a chuckle from him as he stuck his legs into a fresher jumpsuit. “I do Pet. As I said, The Brotherhood does ensure that you stay in  _ peak physical condition.”  _ Her blunt nails made contact with the flesh on his back and Danse shuddered at the dull pain it brought to the surface of his mind and set his heart racing. 

This was the worst possible idea.

All of the buckles were done up in a methodical manner and he blushed when he felt the fabric of the material bunch slightly under his jumpsuit. Anna sighed when he moved back over to his power armor and was pouting by the time the hydraulics clicked all of the latches back into place. 

“10 pm Ma’am?’

Her smile broke out again and he returned one of his own, even as the pit of his stomach twisted at the thoughts in his head. If  Haylen or Rhys caught him.... How he was going to explain any of this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah it's got panties in it... for course it does. It's me... I have chapter 3 written and I will be working on chapters 4 and 5 soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Now tell me Danse. What do you think your reward should be? What do you want?” 
> 
> “To touch...” She slipped off her boots as well and set her toes on his knee.
> 
> “Go ahead. You like? I saw the way you were looking during dinner. I thought you might swallow your fork.” 
> 
> He barely heard her, marveling at the way the material seemed to show every curve of her slim legs. Danse shifted closer and laid his lips against her knee. 
> 
> God, her skin smelled amazing, the same spicy sweet of the blanket he had spent the night wrapped in. Like cloves and cinnamon and Fancy Lads all rolled in with the soft scent of woman. It made his mouth water and his cock press against the fabric of his borrowed panties. 
> 
> “Is this all you want Pet?” 
> 
> “No Ma’am” 
> 
> “Then speak up or you are gonna be very unsatisfied.” 

10 pm came far faster than he expected.  Haylen had argued about the protocol of the  scavving outing he was sending her and Rhys on, but the other man had only smirked and told the scribe that it was fine. That at times protocol needed to be bent for the best function of the team. Anna had drawn up a crude map and told them which stores they were likely to find the best supplies in.

She had been right about his power armor as well, the catch in his knee all the more noticeable once he had the time to look at the machinery. Anna had left him alone with his thoughts for most of the day, only popping her head in once to ask him how it was going.

When  Haylen and Rhys returned, both with packs full of supplies, she grinned like a woman possessed.

“See, Sticky Fingers! Talents put to use! Find anything interesting?”

Rhys grumbled as he stomped off while  Haylen laid out what seemed to be probably a week's worth of food and water.

“There was so much left Sir! I don’t know how it wasn’t picked clean! Were you able to get the issue in your armor fixed? Supplies could be moved in far greater volume...”

Danse nodded to her. “After we come back from  ArcJet . Did you have any issues with the locals?”

“No Sir. There were some Mole Rats inside one of the shops but no issues beyond that.”

“ Plus that means a good dinner tonight!”

Both of them turned to Anna with a look of mild disgust.

“Mole rat? For dinner?” 

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me?! You just left perfectly good meat out in the open for the  ferals and  bloodbugs ?  Juuuuuust like the Brotherhood. Too good for the food the rest of us eat.” Anna threw up her hands, stomping back to her borrowed room.

“Thank you, Sir.” 

“For what,  Haylen ?”

“She reminds me of Senior Scribe Mckennzie. That woman terrified me back at the Citidel.”

Danse smiled to himself, at how he had made the same sort of comparison the night before, for far different reasons. He cleared his throat and gathered as many cans of water as he could, taking the supplies to their kitchen.

“I had thought the same thing. But she has agreed to help us which is more than I expected for a civilian.” When he twisted, he was given a reminder of the price he was paying for her help. The panties were smooth against his rear, but he could feel the way that they bunched against his jumpsuit.

Knowing that Anna had been wearing them while she touched herself before...

He grumbled and leaned against the  counter top as he stacked the cans. He hadn’t been this constantly aroused since his drills with Scribe Mckennzie and the way the panties held him, giving him little room to grow or adjust, was torture. The sun had just started to dip below the horizon and the heat of the day was slipping away. His heart raced when he checked the time; only an hour and a half until Anna had instructed him to meet her.

He still had no clue why he was letting her do any of this. When she wasn’t around, when he held still and didn’t move, his stomach twisted into knots about the sheer wrongness of the entire situation. He was a Paladin. A highly trained and dangerous force. The Protectors of the Wasteland from the dangers of the past. Why was he so willing to drop anything for this tiny woman?

He retrieved his armor from the motorcade and went to check the perimeter, lost in his thoughts as he looked over the turrets.

How long had it been since he had been with a woman? How long had he spent without even indulging the thought of closeness with another human being? Months...years?

Danse sighed at the twitching flesh of a feral wandering in the distance, taking aim and ending the things  miserable life with movements so methodical he didn’t think. He felt nothing. Nothing for the ghoul; nothing for the raiders he had been forced to put down days before when they attempted to take the station.

He was exhausted. Maybe that was why he was so eager to let Anna take what she willed. He had not had leave in over six months and Cade had always lectured on how important it was for a commander to relax.

_ Don’t stop on my account  _ _ Dansey _ _. It’s unhealthy for a Commanding Officer to be as tense as you are. It will reflect badly onto your team. _

He shuddered when  Anna’s voice rung through his head. She was right and she seemed to know what she was talking about. He had awoken more rested then he had in months and it was because of her.

He also couldn’t deny how hard all of this made him. Paladin be damned, he was still a man and everything Anna did should have had him emasculated. Not hard, not rubbing himself in her panties. It just felt so good. After all this time, it felt good to not think of the fact that the  Prydwen might never show up. Her soft voice and touches were the comfort he needed to sooth that terror. This wasn’t a weakness.... No. It was a therapy, a strength to be able to know his needs.

The rest of the perimeter was secure and he stomped his armor back inside and down to the motorcade as his stomach grumbled. The smell of Salisbury steak and  InstaMash greeted him and his mouth watered. They had been down to rations and jerky, so a hot meal was bliss and he shoveled it into his mouth with a groan as soon as a plate was passed to him.

“Be careful now  Dansey Pants. Wouldn’t want to choke.”

At least this time when Anna came up behind him, he didn’t startle. He tried to stay disinterested when she ducked under the arm of his power armor, kept his eyes glued to his plate. Her footsteps were loud on the tile and Danse held his resolve until Rhys cleared his throat.

“I know it has been warmer recently Civilian, but is that necessary?”

“Don’t like it Rhys’? I think it looks quite nice...” She skipped over to the food on the hot plate and sniffed at it with mild disinterest. Danse finally stole a look and regretted it immediately.

Anna’s thin legs were clad in dark stockings, strips of her pale skin barely visible before the tight shorts that hugged the curve of her tiny rear. She was still wearing the stolen t shirt, but all of the grime of the wasteland had been scrubbed free of her skin and the grey stood out as a stark contrast against her pale skin tone. Her nose wrinkled up when she caught him staring, a soft giggle passing from her lips.

“I can’t believe you guys would choose to eat 200-year-old Salisbury Steak over fresh meat. I might have even been convinced to cook if it was fresh.”

Danse was finally able to find his voice before he shoveled another large bite into his mouth. “I have never been a fan of Mole Rat. Too gamey.”

Surprise registered on her face when he spoke up before Anna’s eyes narrowed at him. “Really now  Dansey ? I think I could probably make something you would like. Even if you weren’t sure about it at first.”

He could feel his heart pounding at her double entendre, fearing that it was echoing out from his power armor. He dropped his eyes back down to his plate and shrugged as best he could inside the bulk.

“Too bad we won’t know.”

“Too bad indeed. I’ll be retiring for the night and after the Paladin and I retrieve the tech you need  tomorrow, I’ll be on my way.  Thank's for the hospitality but I  gotta be getting back to my home soon. Got things  brewin ’. Literally.” She stepped around the bulk of Danse’s armor again and he could feel the way her fingers drummed along the back plate when she passed. The vibrations felt like they were connected to his cock, and combined with the hungry look in her eye as she passed him, Danse wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from tonight.

Half an hour before the scheduled time, Danse found Rhys and  Haylen on their separate bedrolls and pointedly ignored the way they crept closer together each night. Comfort in the field was what a soldier needed, and he would not question them.... so long as they did not question him.

He grabbed the t-shirt from where it had been balled up and checked over his kit for the next day. He was packed, as fully stocked as was possible given their limited resources. Would Anna be? She seemed to prefer something short range like her baseball bat but if their gathered intel was correct, they could be facing things far more dangerous than ferals.

The pit of his stomach dropped slightly. He couldn’t place why, but the thought of Anna throwing herself into the line of fire for him caused more panic than it should have. She was just so small... how had she survived in the wastes this far?

He checked the time again and sighed; still 15 minutes till they had scheduled and he went through the motions again. Unpacking, checking the contents and slipping in a few extra stims from his personal stock just in case.

He could hear the door to the Motorcade creak open as he packed everything back up, the music that was echoing up was more than enough proof to know she was waiting.

The night air was warmer than before, but still he shivered when he was outside the station. Nerves creeped up his spine when he looked around and couldn’t seem to find her anywhere. Just her PipBoy sitting on the workbench with the rubberized pad that usually sat under the power armor station in front of it.

“Anna?” He called out into the shadows and checked the time on the screen she seemed to have left open for him. 2 minutes until 10 and he started pacing, feeling more naked than he should have when he stepped free from the thick metal.

Danse could feel eyes on him, the hairs on the back of his neck standing at attention. A single thought crossed his mind, what if this was some sort of trick, some sort of crazy way to get raiders inside the station to take over their resources? What if this was some insane  wastelander plan to kill the remainder of his squad? What if...

“You’re thinking too hard again Danse. God. I can see the smoke pouring from your ears.”

Her voice bounced around the concrete walls and she seemed to materialize from the darkest corner, the sound of her boots echoing against the floor harshly. He fell into parade rest as she approached and circled him like a feral dog around its prey.

“ _ Mmmm _ , did you have a good day  Dansey Pants? Get that catch in your armor fixed?” She had made a full circle around him before stepping forward, reaching up and working at the first buckle at the base of his throat.

“Yes, Ma’am I did. We are prepared for tomorrow.”

“Are we? I’m not so sure about that. You seem awful...Tense.” She worked her way down the expanse of his chest, undoing the buckles and hidden zippers as she found them and peeling the fabric away from his skin. Her touch was soft and he shivered, Anna responded with a giggle as she stepped away from him and pulled the suit down to his waist. Then her hands ran over the expanse of his chest, before she smiled at the feeling of the coarse hair under her fingers.

“Why are you doing this?” 

Shock crossed her face and she snatched her hands away from him like she had been burned.

“What do you mean Danse? Do you not want this?” For the first time since she regained consciousness, Danse was surprised by how she finally seemed to act her size. She had stepped away from him and was curling in on herself as she turned away.

“No please ..... Anna... Ma’am. That’s not ..... ” 

He reached out and grabbed her wrist, her entire hand eclipsed by his own and worried at the way she almost flinched away from the touch. The squad needed her, needed her help to be able to complete the mission as directed. Deep inside himself, Danse couldn't deny the small voice telling him he needed this. He needed the loss of control that Anna had been providing, and the thought of her turning him away....

“Anna... Please I want this ..... I need this.” He forced the words out, a deep growl as he lightly tugged on her wrist, in the hopes she would come back to him.

“You truly want this, Paladin?”

Her voice wavered before it fell back into the cool tone that part of his mind couldn't help but respond to.

“Yes Ma’am. Please.... I need to... To...”

“Say it Paladin.” He swallowed around the lump in his throat, his voice broken with shame when he spoke. “I need to be .... I need to not be in command.”

The fire seemed to kindle back to life in Anna’s eyes and she stepped close to him again.

“Well Danse, why don’t you be a good boy and take that stupid uniform off. I want you to understand that you are just a man. Your rank means nothing to me.” Her chin had raised up and she resumed pacing circles around him, one hand playing over the muscles of his shoulders and chest as she walked.

He worked on shimmying his thick legs out of the suit and letting it pool to the floor around his boots. Anna purred with approval when the blue line of the panties came into view.

“ _ Mmmmm _ Good boy. I’m impressed you lasted all day. How do they feel?” Anna’s voice was soft in his ear when she dropped to a crouch and started to unlace his boots. Once they were loose, he  toed them both off and stepped out of his trimmings as a Paladin. She smiled up at him and Danse couldn’t help the way he shivered at the position, her pouty lips mere inches from where the material of the panties was starting to strain as his cock stirred to life.

“G-good.”

“Oh, really now? You seemed so unsure about them this morning. I was certain you were going to be uncomfortable....” One of her hands came to rest on his bare thigh, squeezing slightly before she stood and moved over to the work bench. “I’m proud of you  Dansey Pants, what should I give you as a reward....”

The corners of his mouth twitched up into a slight smile, “I get to choose?” If he could choose his reward... God. He would get on his knees and beg to be inside her. He wanted to be the one who made her shiver and sigh. He wanted to actually feel as she tightened around him, his name repeated over and over as he slowly tortured her with pleasure for hours.

“You get to make some suggestions.”

His smile wavered a bit but that only seemed to encourage her.

“ What’sa matter Danse? ‘ Fraid I won’t let you have what you want?”

“A little.” 

“Can’t make that decision if you don’t tell me.” She raised one hand and beckoned him over and it was like she had her fingers sunk deep in his hair. He was helpless to follow.

“Knees, Pet.” The padding she had laid out in front of the work bench was enough to dull the harsh cold on his knees and her stocking clad legs stretched out in front of him, the sheer black fabric tempting him to reach out, to touch.

“Now tell me Danse. What do you think your reward should be? What do you want?”

“To touch...” She slipped off her boots as well and set her toes on his knee. 

“Go ahead. You like? I saw the way you were looking during dinner. I thought you might swallow your fork.”

He barely heard her, marveling at the way the material seemed to show every curve of her slim legs. Danse shifted closer and laid his lips against her knee.

God, her skin smelled amazing, the same spicy sweet of the blanket he had spent the night wrapped in. Like cloves and cinnamon and Fancy Lads all rolled in with the soft scent of woman. It made his mouth water and his cock press against the fabric of his borrowed panties.

“Is this all you want Pet?”

“No Ma’am” 

“Then speak up or you are  gonna be  _ very _ unsatisfied.”

He looked up to her green eyes, darkening slowly as he laid wet kisses on her knee.

“I want... I want to touch you properly. God I... I want... to feel you, taste you. Show you the pleasure you have been giving me. Anna, please.... I have ..... ” Thinking about how she would feel, the way she would shiver and moan, had him straining against the thin material covering his cock. She reached out and threaded her fingers through his hair, pulling him higher on his knees and his face closer to her thigh.

“Do you think you have been that good pet? I'm not even sure if I should let you with an attitude like that. Especially when I don’t know if those hands are any good.”

Part of his manhood wanted to rise to the challenge. He knew he could. He wasn’t some blushing virgin, unaware of what felt good or how to make a woman shudder. He needed to find some way to prove it to her, prove he was a man, prove he could make her squirm and cum.

One hand came up to grip her ankle and hold her firm against his knee while the other reached high and hovered over her thigh for a second unsure if he was allowed-

“You can touch, Pet. I already said that was fine. But can you stay on your knees like a good boy for me?”

He nodded quickly and let his hand rest on her warm thigh for a moment before flexing his fingers gently in the muscles there. He hadn’t realized how strong she was until he was finally allowed to touch and feel the heavy bands of muscles in her legs. She would have made the perfect recruit, so physically fit and ready for command.

Danse shuffled closer, using the grip on her ankle to set the ball of her foot on his thigh and press kisses along the tendon that he could see straining before it disappeared beneath her shorts. Anna hummed happily, watching him with a soft smile.

“I  dunno if you’ve earned the right to pleasure me yet,  Pet.. ” He whined, a pathetic sound of need that interrupted her. Anna tugged on his hair again, sharply this time, to get his attention. “But you can. If you learn to be a good boy and listen.”

He could do that. He had proven that he was a good boy, that he could listen and follow her instruction. Just thinking about the reward at the end of the ordeal, the mere thought of being able to touch her like she had been touching him made a bead of fluid leak from the head of his cock.

“I can.... Please... just tell me.” She smiled down at  him, one eyebrow arched when she laughed.

“ So fucking beautiful, aren’t you, Sweet Baby? And  soooo eager.  Beggin ’ to eat my pussy like the good little boy you are. Gonna earn it right quick like that.”

He whined, her words bouncing around his head before he focused on how pleased she sounded. His hips twitched in response, desperate for any sort of friction to rub against and he could hear from the soft laugh above him that she noticed.

“Gods,  Dansey ..... You want it bad, don’t you? Don’t you soldiers have self-control? You got to cum earlier today...” Her foot slipped to the floor as he pulled her leg closer, wrapping himself around it.

“Sorry Ma’am. I... just...” He couldn’t find the words. Something about her drove all competent thought from his head and he turned into a mess of a man. There would be time to hate himself later for it, when she finally left them and he was alone with his thoughts once again, right now he wasn’t going to think beyond what she told him to.

“Not around you, Ma’am.” 

She purred. Purred like one of Quinlan’s cats up on the Prydwen and he tried to stop the happy sound that bubbled from his throat in response but it was impossible.

“Gods, Danse.... you’re so fucking amazing. I can’t even tell you...” Her voice trailed off and he pressed up into the soft touch of her hand carding through his hair. She cleared her throat.

“You really want to touch me, don’t you Pet? You wanna use that pretty mouth to make me shiver and cum?”

“My mouth... My hands. Fuck.... Anything Ma’am. Please? I can... Please let me prove to you...” She tugged his face closer, lips hovering over the seam of her shorts. Was this a test? Was he supposed to not touch her? God it was so hard to be a good boy when every drive he had as a man told him to dive forward. Even with her shorts on, he would attempt to devour her, anything, if it meant he could watch as she came again.

“Hmm...” She released his head with a slight push, rocking his weight back enough that when she shoved herself off the workbench his face didn’t crash into her hips. One of her small hands came to rest on the button. “I want you to ask me real nice, like the good boy I know you are. Ask for the privilege to lick my pussy, Paladin.”

Anna laughed at the broken sound of pleasure that came from his throat, her thumb flicking the button open when he tried to form words.

“Please Anna... Please let me pleasure you, Ma’am. I promise I won’t stop until you're satisfied. I want to taste you, I haven’t stopped thinking about it since this morning.” She inched the zipper down slowly and he felt like she was opening the gates of paradise for him.

“Now how could I say no to such a good boy?” Her tone was teasing, like she knew something he didn’t but any questions he might have had about it flew out the window when she hooked her thumbs into the waist of her shorts and pulled them down her legs. The garters he had expected were there but she was completely bare besides that and he moaned, finally getting a glimpse of her mound. She wiggled the shorts down and dropped the softest kiss to his forehead when she bent to remove them.

Her hand was back in his hair, guiding him back to her. “You want this, Sweet Baby? You  wanna see if you can be a good boy and earn your right to cum?” Danse nodded, licking his lips as his eyes flicked between hers and the part of her body he was currently fixated on. When she raised an eyebrow at him, he surged forward only to be stopped by her firm grip on his hair and her laugh, bordering on cruel.

“Gods, you want it so bad don’t you, Pup? You  wanna feel like a big boy, don’t you? Get to it.” He surged forward, and was again stopped by her grip on his hair.

“Please Ma’am. I’ve been so good.” It came out as a deep growl, the grip he had on her thighs tightening slightly. He looked up to see her biting her lip, eyes dark with arousal and he tightened his grip again. That earned him a slight moan and her grip tightening in his hair.

“I  _ guess _ ...” She let out a dramatic sigh followed by a light hearted laugh and he joined her, a smile spreading across his face before he bent in and was allowed to kiss her thigh. 

Progress.

Danse closed his eyes and worked on kissing the stocking clad muscles of her legs, worshiping them with his mouth as he pressed wet kisses on every  inch she allowed him to touch.

“God above. You’re perfect, such amazing legs. I want to taste you Ma’am. So fucking bad.”

He heard Anna’s small gasp and her grip on his hair loosened, letting him shuffle forward with a quick moan of pleasure. His mouth fell on her, tongue delving quickly between her damp folds and lapping softly to chase the flavor of her before kissing gently up the puffy flesh of her lips and pressing his tongue in at the apex of her folds, gently circling the hardening nub of her clit.

“ _ Fuck! _ What would your precious Maxson think of you now Pup? Swearing? Lapping at my clit like a man dying?” She shivered and he could feel the way her thighs twitched around his head when his tongue honed in and ran tight circles around her clit. He repeated the motion until she was moaning softly, her thighs shaking in his grip like he predicted.

“Ma’am...” God he was so hard, hips twitching as if he could fuck the air in front of him. He wanted to make her cum so badly. Wanted to feel the way that she would clench around his length once he worked his way into her.

“ _ Fuck  _ _ Dansey _ _ Pants _ ! Be a good boy and get one of those thick fingers in me!” The way her voice was pleading had him twitching, a spreading damp patch visible on his panties before he worked the elastic of the material down and under his balls. The air in the garage was cool against his heated flesh but the pressure of the soft material against his growing cock had become too much and he sighed in relief against the crook of Anna’s thigh before his right hand came up to part her lips for him.

He couldn’t stop the moan of desire when he looked at her, wet folds a rosy pink and glistening with desire. She shivered when he ran one finger down the length of her slit and slowly sunk it inside her, watching the way her body started to hug the digit tightly as soon as he pressed forward.

“It’s … it’s unhealthy for a Commanding Officer to be as tense as you are Ma’am. It will reflect badly on us tomorrow.”

She let out a huff of laughter and he marveled at the way it had her tightening on his finger.

“Hush now, Sweet Baby. Get back to work. Make me cum and I will let you do the same.”

His cock twitched in response and he was again reminded of just how hard he was, how badly he wanted to properly feel her around him, how much he needed to prove he was a man to her and not the childish names she called him.

He dove on her clit again as he began to slowly thrust his finger in and out of her wet heat. Her fingers threaded through his hair again, holding him against her body and gently guiding him back to the exact pattern he needed to have her shivering against him. Now her voice joined in with her soft sighs, almost musical when she started to moan his name. It had him shuffling closer, nearly stopping to whine in pleasure when the motion had his weeping cock press up against her leg.

It wasn’t what he wanted but he was past the point of caring. She could use him for her pleasure as long as he was allowed the small friction of rubbing up against her like a crazed animal in need of training.

The thought had him rutting his hips against her leg again, slide of his cock aided by the precum he was leaking against the thin fabric. Anna’s giggles brought him back to himself slightly, blinking up at her confused.

“Look at you  Dansey . Rutting against my leg like a dog. You that worked up, Pretty Pup?” God her voice. It was back to that tender brand of condescension that was slowly starting to only make him hard every time he heard it. He could only nod against her, tongue working to make up for lost time before he lost his mind to the haze of pleasure again.

“That’s a good Puppy. You can... You can do what you like as long as you make sure you don’t cum before I say so. _ Ah fuck! _ Can you do that? Be a good puppy and hold off till I say?” He whined and nodded against her, mind lost in the broken way her words slipped out and how hot it made him.

He would be good. He was a good boy, a good pup, whatever she wanted him to be as long as he was allowed to cum at the end of it all.

It was hard to not lose focus when the slide of his cock over the smooth silken material of her stockings was so distracting and with every few thrusts of his hips, he let out a stuttering breath. She whined, finally tugging on his hair to lay his head on her thigh.

“Stay Pup. Watch like a good boy.” She pulsed her grip hard enough in his hair to have his eyes rolling before she let go and laid two fingers on her clit, rubbing it similar to the way he had been licking her before dipping her fingers down to join his, urging him to move with her.

“Gods  Dansey ! Fuck I can’t help thinking about that thick cock.  Gonna ... gonna have to work up to it.  _ Fuck!  _ _ Hnnnng _ _!  _ _ So _ _ fucking close! _ I  wanna ride you so bad Puppy.  Wanna feel that thick cock inside me. God that stretch will be so fucking good.” She was thrusting on their joined fingers now and he was transfixed, watching the way her body gripped at the digits.

His hips stuttered at the thought, he could feel the way her muscles were fluttering, how close she was to coming and his mouth surged forward, sucking at her clit clumsily but the desired effect was instant. She clamped down on their fingers and moaned out his name as she came.

His hips stilled, watching as the blush swept across her body and the way her eyes rolled back as her thighs shook. It was bigger, better than the way she has shivered in his lap that morning and just watching, knowing he had been a good boy and given her that pleasure had his hips picking up pace. He needed to cum. Needed it as bad as the air that was being pulled into his lungs in shuddering breaths. Danse wrapped his free arm around her calf and shifted so he could grind against her properly.

“Fuck yes. Good Boy. You have been so patient for me, Pup. So sweet, making sure I came first. Such a good boy. You can let go now.” Her words had his hips stuttering but when she gently petted his hair and bent forward far enough to lay a gentle kiss to the top of his head, he saw white. The pressure inside him snapped as he came with a snarl, rutting harshly against her shin as he painted the dark material of her stockings with thick white droplets of his cum.

He wasn’t sure how long they sat together, her  PipBoy playing soft music as she petted his hair and hummed along, words slipping out occasionally.

“ Dansey ... Sweet Baby? You back with me  Hunny ?”

He mumbled an affirmative, rubbing his face against her thigh and smiled when he heard her chuckle.

“Almost there from the sounds of it Pup. Come on. Let’s get us cleaned up and then I think you have been a very good boy. Think we can get away with you coming to cuddle in bed tonight?”

His heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest. She was asking to continue this? She... she wanted him?

“I. ..I don’t know Ma’am.” 

“If  Haylen or Rhys catches us you can tell them we woke early and were going over strategies for  ArcJet . How’s that sound Paladin? Hold me tonight before we go diving into danger tomorrow?” 

He nodded and followed her dumbly when she pulled him to his feet and waited as she gathered up the  pads and tucked them away, grabbing up her PipBoy and locking it back onto her arm before taking one of his hands into both of hers.

“Come on Puppy. It’s time to go to bed. We got a big day tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we go to ArcJet! I am currently working on it and it may get a littttle bit angsty.... Half way point! Woooooooooooo!  
> \----------------------------  
> I would always appreciate a Kudo's or comment. I know people are reading and I will keep writing but I really have it figure out if I want to continue this into a different story involving the Prydwen and Maxson.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna barely recognized her own voice with the scream the engine firing up tore from her. Through the window she watched as Danse fell to a knee under the force of the blast, the metal of his armor starting to glow under the heat. 
> 
> The synths all fell to the ground, turning to ash but all Anna could hear was the roar of the engine and the pounding of her heartbeat. 
> 
> “Test firing completed with an efficiency rating of 98.6%.” 
> 
> “Fuck you!” She screamed at the speaker, throwing herself at the blast doors, before a buzzer sounded and they opened with a hiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So stuff got a little angsty and I have tried to tag this as this could be triggering for some. If I have missed tags please feel free to reach out and let me know

“Engine Core is up ahead. Should be our last stop.”

Anna held back as Danse pushed his way through the doors to the  ArcJet Engine Core. The trail to the building had been filled with raiders and  Bloodbugs ,  ArcJet itself teeming with gen 1 synths. Danse’s armor had been dinged and scuffed by the weapons the skeletal robots carried and all Anna could smell was the hot scent of burnt ozone.

She shifted her pack, digging through it to grab a hit a Psycho and hoped to all hell it wouldn’t be needed however... the deep pain that radiated out from her shoulder where she had taken a blast earlier told a different story. Something about this building was off. It was too quiet. She slipped the syringe into her back pocket, just in case, and pushed her way through the door.

Anna stumbled over a few pieces of debris before clicking the screen light from her  PipBoy and surveying the rubble around her. The hallway was littered with burnt soiled paper, rusted beams bowing under the weight of the entire building.

“Power must be out.” 

Danse grunted softly, the heavy metal of his boots clanking around the destroyed halls. 

His voice echoed out in awe when they stepped into the large room, Anna’s eyes grew wide as she took in the rocket that was spotlighted almost as some morbid monument to pre-bomb industrial warfare.

“Take a look at this place. Scribes would have a field day in here.” The rusted metal of the walkway whined and Anna kept herself as close to the wall as possible, listening carefully to the metal and slamming her thumb into the button as they passed an elevator. Danse’s rumbling voice broke her panic.

“The transmitter should be in the control room at the top of the core, but it looks like the elevators are dead. We’ll have to keep heading down for now, and find a way to get the facilities power back online. There has to be a power backup system somewhere.”

The metal creaked under each of his footsteps and Anna pushed forward, ducking under the arm of his armor and took lead. When they reached the bottom, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief. 

Or at least she tried too. 

Even after 200 years the room was still filled with soot and ash that fluttered in the air with each footfall and she ended up coughing and hacking.

“Scout the maintenance area off the main room.”

Anna dropped the tip of her bat to the ground, resting her hand on one hip as she raised an eyebrow at him. The heavy aluminum scraped against the concrete, grating on his nerves.

“Excuse me?” She couldn’t see his face inside his helmet but the way he shuffled about in the soot was telling.

“Sorry Ma’am, but there might be a power back up there.” The standoff between them was clear and even towering two heads taller than her, Danse knew that in the end he would lose. “Please?”

She smiled as she hefted her bat over her shoulder, body still tense and prepped for a battle but the sway of her hips returning.

“Better.” 

“I’ll stay here and watch your back.” 

She nodded and moved over to the  open door frame.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood to attention. As soon as she was out of Danse’s line of sight she let out a long, thin breath. Something was wrong here. More than just wrong, but likely an outright trap. They were not alone, a  molerat with no sense of smell could tell you that. She ran her fingers over the curve of the syringe in her back pocket as she moved along the corridor and came to the control room.

Machinery lined the walls and Anna drummed her fingers along the various tables before stepping through the door frame into the back room. Her ears pricked up as she moved towards the far corner, pulling the fusion core from the generator and slipping it into her pack. Then the glow of a terminal caught her eye.

“Bingo.” 

The wheels of the ancient chair squeaked as she settled her weight into it and started plugging at the keyboard, trying through a few combinations of passwords before the terminal beeped happily and a smile played at the corners of her lips.

She scanned the lines of intrigue on the terminal, muttering to herself as she worked through the menus and pages until she was able to finally re-establish the backup power. Lights flickered on as the systems booted up in sequence and a mechanical voice called out through the PA.

“Engine power – Restored.” 

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end at the answering sound of laser fire as she groped for the Psycho in her back pocket, quickly slipping the needle into the crook of her elbow.

There was a guttural growl that resonated down the corridor, foreign and animalistic in comparison to the sharp pinging of laser discharge. Anna was a blur of movement, snarling with rage as she brought her bat up. The heavy tip connected, ripping the arm from one of the synths that had come scrambling from the walls the minute the power was re-established.

He took aim, letting blast after blast knock the heads from Gen 1’s, as Anna kept low and knocked chest pieces, arms, legs, anything she could reach off.

Time slowed when he heard her scream, a garbled sound as a shock baton made contact with the bare flesh of her arm and the current overloaded her system.

_ You should have convinced her to wear armor, to use something long range. Should have argued, should have known something would happen. Stupid. Sloppy. She is a civilian, god damn it! How could you even think to ask this of her? How could you ask ANYTHING of her? A civilian! Now her death will be on your hands! Your fault! Always your fault! Weak. Useless! Not even worth the fusion core in your suit. Not even worth scrap! _

Another garbled shout had him surging forward, the metal bars inside one of the synths arms bending and snapping as his fist curled around it and he flung the abomination away from her.

“Anna!” 

He grabbed a second synth, tossing it with enough force to crumple against the wall before the sensors registered the feeling of her unprotected skin under the tips of his  armors fingers. The look in her eyes screamed of  chems : pupils wide and unfocused, nostrils flaring, teeth snapping. Her wrist was tight in his fist as he flung her hard against the wall, hoping whatever she took would dull the blow.

She snarled, trying to haul her feet under her body and come back fighting but Danse just shouted.

“Go! The blast doors! My armor will protect me!”

Anna could barely understand him through the haze of rage and bloodlust and  _ heat _ curling low in her belly but the scent of burnt ozone in her nose was enough to bring focus. Boots hit the soot covered floor as a single Gen-1 chased after her. She  skid to a stop and turned her weight sharply on her heel, bringing the bat up into the chest of the synth chasing her. It let out a few sparks and screeches of grinding metal on metal as she let go of the handle and allowed the weight of the bat to carry through.

The synth was sent crashing against the wall and her chest heaved, fingers itching for a fight as she punched the 'Doors Close' Button. She growled, panic rising in her throat as synths seemed to pour from the cracks in the walls and drop from the ceiling. Danse was overrun, unable to reload and had resorted to pulling the mechanical beasts off of him by hand.

Trying to think through the haze of Psycho, she took in the terminals as the voice rang out through the speakers again.

“Thermal engine - fueled, primed and standing by for your command.”

It was the only way. The engine ‘START’ button flickered to life, blinking up at her angrily as she watched the synths swarm over him like  Bloodbugs on a bloated Brahmin corpse.

It’s the only way. 

“Input accepted – commencing 5 second count down.”

Anna sent out a silent prayer to any old gods who may be listening.

“5.” 

More synths poured from the walls, skeletal limbs clanking on the scaffolding and stairs.

“4.” 

She didn’t want him to cook inside of his armor. She hoped this wouldn't deplete all the coolant...

“3.” 

The armor had to protect him...

“2.” 

It had to work... if it didn’t, she was sure he would be killed.

“1” 

He couldn't die, he just couldn't...

“Ignition.” 

Anna barely recognized her own voice with the scream the engine firing up tore from her. Through the window she watched as Danse fell to a knee under the force of the blast, the metal of his armor starting to glow under the heat.

The synths all fell to the ground, turning to ash but all Anna could hear was the roar of the engine and the pounding of her heartbeat.

“Test firing completed with an efficiency rating of 98.6%.”

“Fuck you!” She screamed at the speaker, throwing herself at the blast doors, before a buzzer sounded and they opened with a hiss.

“Danse! DANSE!” Sprinting down the hallway and falling over herself as she slipped on piles of ash, Anna managed to stop before she hit the glowing bulk of the paladin’s armor. It was beeping as he stood, the latches hissing as Danse was forcefully ejected from the shell, the speakers of his helmet warning fusion core failure.

He stumbled back, feet skidding on the floor as sweat darkened patches of his jumpsuit.

“Are you okay Danse?! Talk to me!” Anna rushed over to him, running her hands along the bulk of his arms and shoulders as soon as she could reach. She squeezed harshly, as if to reassure herself that he was actually there, actually still alive under her finger tips.

He could only grunt in response, still trying to suck non burnt air into his lungs when he felt Anna’s small fist connect with his shoulder.

“The Blast Doors! You fucking idiot!” Whatever was coursing through her system had her hits swinging heavy and hard. His face went stony and blank as she aimed for his abdomen, quickly grabbing her wrist when she swung her fist next.

“What did you take?” His voice was a low rumble from his chest as he stood over her. She didn’t seem to hear him, short limbs flying out as much as she could to strike.

“Do you have a death wish?! You could have cooked! Right in your fucking tin can!”

She started kicking him, boots connecting with his shins deep enough to bruise as Danse tried to keep control of the adrenaline pumping through him.

The fight was over and somehow, despite all odds, they were still alive. He could feel the blood pumping in his ears, tingling in his fingertips and Anna was pushing,  _ pushing _ every trigger. His training called for retaliation.

When she reached up, the flat of her palm connecting with his cheek, Danse felt his hand snap out, grabbing her and flinging her tiny body away from him, into the closest wall. He closed in on her in three large strides, hand spanning the length of her throat as he pinned her to the wall.

“What. Did you. Take?!” His grip pulsed around her throat, the words coming out through clenched teeth. She tried to claw at his arm but the fabric of his jump suit prevented her from doing any damage and he gathered both of her small wrists into one large hand and pinned them to the wall above her.

It put their faces mere inches from each other and he could hear the growl building at the back of Anna’s throat, pulling back in time to avoid her teeth as she snapped at his face.

“Fuck you!” Her muscles flexed uselessly against his as she struggled, a thin dribble of blood working its way from the crook of her elbow and down her bicep. Only one chem could cause the frenzy she was in and he could feel the blood pumping in her throat as her pulse raced under his hand. He could feel his vision tunneling as rage took over.

_ How could she?! Fucking perfect woman! Perfect recruit! Fucking perfect in every way and she is ruining herself with toxins! _

Her feet started flying out at him again, connecting with his shins but he just grunted as he took the damage and used his grip on her wrists and throat to heft her higher, setting her off balance and gasping for air further.

Anna’s eyes started to roll back as she fought him, breath splashing past her lips as little pants when she struggled.

“Stop fighting me!” He loosened his grip on her throat for a second when she started to make a gurgling sound but regretted it the moment her head snapped forward and connected with his. The pain was blinding and he dropped her. She pushed her frenzied weight forward and they both toppled over onto the floor.

Danse used his bulk to flip them, grabbing for both of her wrists blindly through the stars of pain clouding his vision. He caught one wrist as her short nails cut a deep swipe into his cheek and pinned it next to her head with a growl. His free hand snapped out, striking her harsh across the face which provided him the distraction needed to snatch her other wrist before he pressed his weight down into hers.

Blood was pumping in his ears and all he could smell around him was soot and fire and under it all cloves and cinnamon and Fancy Lads mixed with her sweat. His head was spinning, trying to differentiate between fight or fuck and he couldn’t stop himself. He buried his face into her neck and inhaled deeply, unsure of what animalistic desires were taking him. She was snarling trying to wiggle away to attack despite it all, he could feel as his cock started to thicken against her thigh.

“Fuck woman! Stop it!” It came out a deep growl in her ear and Anna shuddered underneath him, a thin whine escaping her when he pressed his weight against her to stop her squirming. His breath stuttered slightly at the friction on his cock and he shuddered as he felt her hips roll against his.

_ The  _ _ chems _ _ are clouding her mind. She doesn't actually want you. Not like this. Not ever. If she did, she would have let you fuck her proper last night. _

“ Yeeeeeees !” The moan she made was enough to have him reeling and he pulled back suddenly. Anna whined at the loss of his bulk against hers.

She didn’t say anything else, instead surging upward to catch his mouth in a harsh kiss and her teeth snagged his bottom lip. He pulled back with a grunt, the taste of copper filling his mouth as a trickle of blood bubbled over the split. Anna cackled, a hollow sound, his blood staining her lips the prettiest shade of red when he pressed their mouths together with a snarl.

He could hate himself later, would hate himself later, he thought as he pushed a knee between her legs, letting her grind against him as he fumbled with the clasps on the flap of his jumpsuit. The burnt air in the test chamber did nothing to provide relief to his overheated cock. He jerked both of her wrists together sharply and she whined as he transferred both to one of his large hands.

“Shut it. You asked for this  _ Wastelander _ .” The last word came out as a disgusted snarl and he laughed at the way she shuddered underneath him. Her breath was heaving out of her lungs as he snapped his fingers at the button of her jeans, tugging the fabric of her panties down to her knees in tandem.

He was out of control, but the heated look Anna was giving him pushed him forward as he tossed both of her legs over one of his shoulders.

Danse took himself in hand and rubbed the tip of his cock against her entrance, a deep pleasured sound rumbling from his chest as the head slipped through her wet folds.

_ God she is so wet.... the  _ _ chems _ _ have her so far gone. I shouldn’t... I can’t... _

Anna rolled her hips, gasping as the blunt head of his cock pressed and stretched her entrance open. He could feel the way she was already shivering, rocking herself against him as far as his grip would allow. She whimpered as he gently pressed forward, letting her get a feel for the stretch of his cock for just a second before he snapped his hips forward with a snarl.

Anna yelled, a sound of mixed pleasure and pain as her body spasmed around the sudden intrusion and Danse chuckled darkly at the ripples of pleasure it sent along his cock. He was out of control, his brain snapping up the only time he knew he would get to fuck her. She didn't actually want him. This was just the Psycho driving her. And now Anna would never want to be in a room alone with him. He was inhuman, taking from her when she had no ability to give. He should be court marshaled, exiled, even killed for this crime.

He wanted to lean forward, to bury his face deep into her neck so he wouldn’t have to be confronted with the look of pain painted across her features.

“Move Danse! Now!” His hips snapped to life, dragging himself out of her before he pushed back in and she gasped underneath him. Her face scrunched up in a harsh mix of pleasure and pain as she shuddered along his cock.

Anna’s body was a mixture of signals, harsh burning pain and pleasure mixed together as his cock forced itself deeper on each thrust. The Psycho dulled the worst of it and spurred her harder. She needed the fight she had been denied earlier and the harsh sensations of his thick member pummeling her body mixed with the dulled ache of broken bones as he pinned her to the filthy floor had her blood all but singing in her ears.

One of his large hands clamped down on her ribs, a hot shot of pain threatening to overwhelm her but the new position had the head of his cock angling right over that point of pleasure that had her threatening to explode. She could barely think past the mixture of white-hot pain and pleasure. More. She needed more.

Anna stretched and whined, throwing her hips back against Danse as she chased the building pressure in her belly.

“Yes. __ _ Hnnng _ __ Yes Puppy! I’m  gonna cum. Make me cum Danse!” It felt like something inside her snapped, all the pain in her body building to a high point as the pleasure zipped up her spine like a lightning bolt.

Danse shuddered as he felt her start to tighten. _ Yes! God yes! _ It was better than he had ever thought it could be. She was so tight, her small body clinging to  his each time he drew his hips back, milking his length with her shudders and groans. He felt half animal as he rutted into her, uncaring of the way she whined in pain.

All he could think of was filling her, mating her, leaving his mark deep inside her. Nothing else could have snapped him from his goal and he snarled as he felt his balls draw up sharply.

“ Yeeeesssaaarrrgggh !” He tried to contain his shout of delight as his hips stuttered inside her and his thrusts lost all rhythm, pushing the head of his cock against her cervix as he came. Nothing had ever felt so good, nothing ever would compare to the animalistic pleasure he took as his hips tried to push his seed deeper. Post battle sex was not something he had indulged in before and now he doubted anything would ever measure up.

Danse’s world shifted down to just a few senses, all of them filled with Anna. All he could smell was her sweat, spicy and sweet; all he could feel was the silken heat of her body still wrapped around his cock. She let out a shuddering whine of pain and the spell was broken, guilt hitting him in the gut like a sack of bricks.

She gasped as he pulled back suddenly and rocked back on his heels, scrambling away from her as fast as his feet could take him. He needed distance, something, anything to wipe away the image of her sprawled out, cum dripping from between her bruised thighs.

At a distance he could focus on the damage she had taken in battle. Her right wrist was a mottled mess of busted blood vessels and bruise, the bone underneath clearly broken. Her ribs spoke the same story, worsened only by the raw burns from the shock baton beating he hadn't even been aware she had taken.

“Anna you’re...” 

She just held up her good wrist, stopping him before he spoke further. “That Psycho is  gonna keep me going till we can get the receiver. I don’t  wanna hear it. Help me up.” She fumbled with her pants, pulling all of the fabric up over her hips with a few jerky movements. He couldn’t imagine the pain she was in if through the haze of such a powerful chem she could still feel it.

He reached out for her good hand and felt the bile rise in his throat at the thin whine that spilled past her lips when he tugged her to her feet. It was his fault. She hobbled back to the maintenance room, bending with a groan and grabbing her pack before dragging it along the burnt ground of the test chamber.

“Carry this. There is a fusion core in it. You’ll need it for your suit.” Her every sentence was clipped, teeth clenched against the pain as she moved over to the elevator doors.

He just kept repeating to himself under his breath.

“The important thing is that we’re still alive and we have a way to the transmitter.”

There were a few more synths at the top of the stairs but Danse pushed his way past Anna and quickly took them out with well place shots to the head. He had one purpose. Find the transmitter and get the civilian back to the station for medical care. He could deal with his warring guilt and disgust after the mission was completed.

“Dammit! I don’t see the device anywhere! Fan out and check the synth remains. They may have been after the transmitter as well.” He could barely keep the panic from his voice as he watched the way Anna slumped against one of the chairs.

“Yeah... Yeah just... Just  gimme a minute.”

She blinked away the pain, her body covered in a thin sheen of sweat as she pushed herself past her limit. She swayed and doubled over, vomiting bile and the meager breakfast they had eaten before their departure.

The boots of his power armor were heavy on the floor as he stomped over to her reaching out to rub her back before she snarled.

“Don’t fucking touch me,  _ Paladin _ .”

It was so full of pain. He felt like she had taken a blade, slid it between his ribs and Danse stuttered to draw breath as he pulled away, the guilt slapping him even harsher across the face than before.

_ Your fault.  _

_ Your fault. _

She swayed and blew out a long breath, straightening up and taking a few faltering steps before she bent to inspect one of the corpses.

“Found it.” Anna slumped heavily against the wall as she held up the machinery for him to see before handing it off to put in her pack.

He reached out hesitantly for her, holding up her weight as she fully lost steam.

“Let’s get out of here. We’ll take the service elevator.”

She nodded and her eyes fluttered back, her body slumping forward as every muscle went limp. She fell against his power armor and Danse quickly scooped her up into one arm.

“Shit.  Shitshits shitshitshit .” He slammed his fist against the call button of the far elevator, the metal panel dimpling slightly under the force. He had to get her back to the station.  Haylen would know what to do. She could help him. She was an excellent field medic. She could fix this.

He couldn’t imagine what he looked like to any  Wastelander he passed. The frail form of Anna, almost as small as a child, draped limp between his arms as he ran full tilt down the broken asphalt.

_ Your fault.  _

_ All of it is your fault. _

“ Dansey ?” Her tiny voice broke through his thoughts like a little bell and he stopped dead in his tracks. The silhouetted buildings that surrounded the police station had just begun to loom on the horizon but he couldn't cause her more pain if she was conscious.

“Yeah Baby? What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”

She smiled a bit before she huffed in pain.

“I like it when you call me that, Puppy.” Her eyes fluttered closed as she slipped into unconsciousness again.

Part of his brain howled when he felt her weight slump against his arms again. He had to get her back to the station.

The sensors on his suit were ringing alarm bells, flashing warnings as the joints started to scrape when the coolant ran dry. Still he pushed. He could deal with the 500 yard sprint he needed to make.

The doors of the station burst open, Rhys snapping to his feet and reaching for his gun but relaxing when the dull shine of the paladin’s armor was visible.

“ Haylen !” His voice boomed out into the small room as he forced himself to slow and set Anna’s bruised body down on his bedroll.

The scribe pushed him out of the way, rucking up Anna’s shirt to expose the still darkening bruises and burns on her ribs and belly. She tutted unhappily but went around her work calmly.

“Did you find the transmitter, Sir?”

He turned to Rhys’ with a snarl.

“Did we find the  _ transmitter _ ?! Nearly lost a fucking civilian Rhys and all you can ask is if we found the fucking transmitter?! Here!” He thrust his hand into the pack and tossed the machine to the other man, hitting him square in the chest with enough force that he let out a small gust of air.

Danse could feel the tears that were streaming down his face behind his helmet.

“She will recover, Sir. Do you require medical care?”

Haylen’s voice was soothing, a calm in the storm of his emotions as the adrenaline started to drain his every ounce of strength.

“No. Does she need to be moved?”

“Yes Sir. Probably best if she recovered in a proper bed. Rhys?”

Danse’s growl stopped the other man dead in his tracks and he raised his hands as if placating a wild beast. The Paladin couldn't even respond, only stooping to gather Anna gently into his arms and stepping around and down the hallway before he opened the door to his quarters. She was so frail, so small, so broken, laid out on his mattress like a doll.

He stumbled back at that thought, nearly crashing into the door as he scrambled backwards towards freedom from his failures. Rhys was a blur of orange as he tossed him aside, brain running on autopilot as he tried to get his armor to the motorcade before complete systems failure. He nearly ripped the door off the hinge in his haste.

Every read out his suit gave him was telling that at least 5 or 6 systems were fried. His coolant was depleted, fusion core was overheating and threatening to melt down. His heart rate and rad absorption was off the charts.

The suit only gave him a few seconds of warning before he was forcibly ejected.

All he could focus on was the pounding of blood in his ears.

_ Your fault.  _

_ Your fault.  _

_ Your fault.  _

“Sir?”

Haylen’s face swam into view and then slipped sideways as the world faded to a comfortable black and he crumpled to the cold concrete floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Danse is gonna beat himself up about that for the next little bit but the next chapter is gonna be fluffy. If I have missed out on tagging anything please reach out and let me know.  
> \---------------------------------------------------------------  
> As always kudos and comments are always appreciated as I am trying to figure out if I wanna sequel this one.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Pup. I was as high as Tenpenny Towers. You couldn’t have gotten through to me and... well that’s my fault. I should have kept a clearer head. I should have been... better for you.” 
> 
> Danse felt his world shift sideways for the second time in as many days. All of this was his fault, his problem, and here she was taking blame and promising to absolve him of his guilt. If only he would reach out and take it. 
> 
> She stepped closer and Danse shied away, deeper into the corner, farther into hiding behind his armor. He managed to look at her, raising his eyes to hers for a second to see the flash of hopefulness replaced with the sadness of his rejection. Still she sighed and gave him a small smile. 
> 
> “I'm not going anywhere Pup. You can keep hiding from me and the world down here. You can try to hide from the truth but this guilt over a situation you couldn't control will be your down fall. But you aren’t the only one. You have people under your command who need you. Don’t let them down.”

Anna groaned, attempting to roll over as a white-hot pain shot from her side.

“Oh, fucking god damn it.” She let out a sharp hiss as she stretched and took stock. Her entire body ached. The ribs on her right side felt as if they had been broken and stimmed, as did her wrist. She could remember being at  ArcJet . The terminal. Laser fire. The Psycho. Danse.

Panic jolted through her and she tried to sit, huffing and panting as she pulled herself upward. Danse.... He hadn’t been hurt had he?

The room swam around her as she swung her legs off the bed and the floor floated u p when she collapsed.

“Woah there civilian ..... Don’t want you rebreaking those ribs after  Haylen worked so hard to get you fixed.”

Sweat beaded on her forehead as she rolled over onto her back and tried to look towards the voice. A figure stood looking down at her, bright orange jumpsuit reflecting enough that she flinched.

“Sticky Fingers?” 

Rhys crouched down, scooping his arms under Anna’s shoulders and hauling her to a seated position as she groaned. Her vision swam again and she could feel bile rising in her throat as her bones and muscles shifted.

“The one and only.” She was surprised at the care that he took in moving her back to the mattress, tucking the blankets around her as she let the dizziness pass. Then he propped her up on a few of the softer bed rolls before handing her a can of water.

“Where’s Danse?” Rhys stayed silent for a second before he reached for the small syringe that had been left on the bed side table.

“Drink the water. Then  Haylen has authorized Med-ex for the pain.”

“Rhys.” 

“Hmmm?” 

“Where’s Danse?” Panic started rising in her voice as she tried to twist and look at him.

“He’s fine... just resting.” She nodded, a short and jerky motion before opening the can and taking a small sip.

“I  wanna see him.” 

Rhys’ motions stopped short, nearly dropping the Med-ex to the bed.

“I don’t ..... I don’t think that’s a good idea. He took some radiation during your encounter with the synths and has... been resting.” Anna grunted in pain as she twisted and scrutinized him.

“You  wanna know how I knew you stole my  holotape ?”

“How?” He seemed a little shocked at her sudden question.

“You got 15 different tells but simply put,  ya ’ never look me in the eyes when you’re lying. I’ve no clue how you and Haylen are hiding your relationship from him.”

Rhys cracked a rare smile and waited as she drank back more of the can.

“Look. I  dunno what’s going on with you two. He’s my CO and it is not my place to judge or even speak about it, but something about that mission changed him. It’s like he thought you were going to die. Or worse. Now he just sulks around the motorcade, trying over and over to fix his armor. He won’t talk to  Haylen , won’t talk to anyone. I’ve never seen him like this.”

A cold wave of dread washed up her spine as she swallowed the last gulp of her water.

“He won’t … I need to see him.” Anna was nearly panting, panic clear in her voice as she struggled against the hold of the blankets.

Rhys had to put no force into keeping her in bed, just resting a hand on her shoulder and using the weight to hold her there.

“I don’t think that’s smart civilian.”

“Fuck  you asshole. I need to see him. Now!”

He laughed "You can make demands, go ahead and try, but I’m not passing them along. Why do you think it’s me in here and not  Haylen . Sweet little thing would crumble in a second.”

“Get out.” 

“Oh what? Don’t want your treat?” He waved the syringe of Med-ex in front of her, taunting.

“Leave it. Then get out.” Rhys’ lips curled into a smirk as he reached for her left arm and roughly pulled it towards him, ignoring the whine of pain Anna let out in response.

“Nope.  Haylen's orders, no self-administering.” He slipped the needle into the crook of her elbow and pushed the chem into her system. Anna sighed in relief as it dulled the hot pain radiating from her injuries. When Rhys pulled the sliver of metal from the crook of her elbow, she scowled at the way he ran his thumb over the multiple scars and marks he found there.

“This why he been sulking? Surprised his little  wastelander likes her  chems ? Could have told him that the way you came in swinging that first night.” His voice was singsong and cruel, Anna pulled her arm away from him as the chem took hold.

“Get out.” 

Rhys stood, laughing, twirling the used syringe in his fingers as he moved towards the door.

“Sir?” 

Haylen’s voice broke him from his concentration on the shoulder joint of his armor. Danse turned to the scribe.

“Yes?”

“I brought you some food. You haven’t eaten yet today.” He used the wrench in his hand to motion to the work bench, stacked with the other half eaten plates. He could feel  Haylen’s look of disapproval and just moved further behind the bulk of metal to hide.

His brain was a jumble, a mess of emotions and wrong doings every time he looked at her. She hadn’t questioned the bruises on Anna’s thighs, but he could see the shame, the judgement in her eyes in every look she gave him.

Haylen gathered a few of the plates and sighed again before she turned to Danse.

“Sir. This is.... This is insanity. You cannot keep beating yourself for the inability to protect an unruly civilian in battle. Anna knew what she was likely to deal with when she agreed.”

_ Oh, did she? Did she know I would force myself on her? Bruise her? Damage her in a way that no one should inflict on another person? Take from her when she had no ability to give? Monster! Horrid abomination. As disgusting as the synths that had ambushed them. A disgusting abomination! _

“Thank you for your input  Haylen . I understand that the situation was beyond my control, but I should have been more vigilant.”

_ Should have kept her at my side. Should have never even asked for her help. _

“That would have been... Unlikely, Sir. Trying to control someone on Psycho is as impossible as trying to get  Kells to smile. “

The wrench nearly slipped from his grip as he tried to tighten a particularly stubborn bolt. Danse felt his stomach roll. She wasn’t supposed to know about the Psycho.

“We were overrun. I can’t blame her for the choices she made.”

Danse wished it was a lie but he couldn’t find Anna at fault in any way. She was small, maybe 110 pounds soaking wet, armed only with a Baseball bat.  Chems where the only way she could get the upper hand in battle. He should have known that there was something wrong, should have seen it all coming but he had been blinded. Blinded by need and desire. He had been more animal than man and he would never be able to forgive himself for the damage.

Haylen’s mouth gaped open before she was able to find her voice again.

“The damage is done Sir, and both of you made it out alive. The things that happen in battle are unforgivable but we must learn to live with them. I... I only say anything  ‘cause Anna has been asking for you Sir. Every time Rhys goes in to check on her, she asks how you are doing, why you won’t come to see her. He is running out of reasons and I won’t be able to keep her confined to a bed indefinitely.”

The wrench clanged loudly against the hard floor.

“What?” 

“Anna has been asking after you Sir. She is worried you were hurt.”

His world went askew, tilted sideways at the idea that she would still even think of him after what he had done.

“N-no I have to fix this first. Maybe tomorrow ..... ” He bent, picked up the wrench and directed his attention back to the shoulder joint. Grunting as the bolt slipped back into place before he checked over the readouts.

He had been working on getting his armor back up to battle standard for 6 days. 6 days of loosening and tightening and replacing the damaged metal. It was finally at 85%. More than good enough to attend to the civilian who was the reason they could finally contact the  Prydwen . He should be grateful, happy even, but he could barely keep down more than a few bites of food.

He was happy that the end was in sight. He could contact Elder Maxson, report the intel that had been gathered and get a final ETA on when the rest of the Brotherhood would arrive. The mission would come to a close and he would wait patiently to confess his crimes in person. He would be court marshaled and exiled.

He could face that thought better than the thought of having to be in the same room as Anna. He could picture the way her eyes would turn on him. The way the warm green would turn cold and he would be forced to face the stark reality of everything he had done.

Haylen’s sigh broke him from his mental self-flagellation and he peaked around the bulk of his armor to stare at her.

“Sir. I don’t... Whatever happens in battle, happens. We can't fault ourselves or the people around us for that.” She shifted and the plates clanked together softly as she stepped away.

Anna had spent most of the day resting, waiting.  Haylen was pulling back the doses of Med-ex which was more than fine. She may still be in pain but the constant grogginess and reliance on others was getting to her. She would have left days ago if Danse had not been avoiding them having a conversation. She needed to talk to him.

Anna felt sick to her stomach every time she thought back to  ArcJet . To the way she had lost control and used him. Her wrist still itched from where the muscles were healing, ribs still a mess of bruises but she had dealt with far worse. It was part of the punishment she deserved.

Danse was so good. Too good for the Brotherhood and clearly far too good for some sort of fucked up disgusting chem fueled  wastelander like herself. She would stick around until he understood this was her fault and then never return. He would never have to deal with her or her chems again.

Rhys cracked the door, 10 pm on the dot like he had every night for the past week. After that he would go, curl up in his bedroll and usually an hour later she would hear him and Haylen talking about the sorry situation that they were all in.

She had taken to sneaking from the bed at night, soon as she had the strength and listening to their conversations to glean the state of the Paladin.

He was healthy but would barely eat, had spent every single day getting his armor back up to working condition. He barely went inside the station now, preferring to patrol at night or sleep on the rubberized mats by his armor.

Anna waited, patient as always, letting the hours tick past until she was sure that  Haylen and Rhys would be distracted with each other before she slowly pushed the door open just enough to slip through.  Haylen’s anguished sobs covered all her movements, both of them discussing the hopeless state of their commanding officer.

“I just.... I can’t get through to him. He won’t talk. What happened out there?”

Rhys' voice was full of caring and  it startled Anna. She had been warming up to him over the past week but was still surprised.

“Do you want me to try darling? The civilian won’t give me anything either.”

Anna let their voices fade into darkness and pressed forward, peering into the main room. Unsurprisingly it was empty, Danse’s bedroll nowhere to be seen. Swearing under her breath, she moved over to the motorcade door and let it swing open.

She could hear the scrape of metal on metal, him working on his armor as she descended the stairs, feeling her stomach start to twist into knots.

Anna almost wished she had pulled on her jeans, instead of just the shorts as the cool air hit bare skin but if she turned back now, she would never be able to work up to this again. Keeping her footfalls silent until she hit the bottom step, Anna called out to him.

“Hey Danse.” 

The air in the motorcade was cool and still as the Paladin swallowed around the lump in his throat.

“Hello.” 

He should have expected this. As  Haylen had said a few days ago, she couldn’t keep Anna confined to bed forever. Danse reached up to work at the helmet, refusing to hide but still unable to meet her eyes.

“How  goes it?” She kept her voice light but he couldn’t focus on the words, not when every time he looked toward her all he could see was the residual tinge of green bruises on her thighs.

“I have it back to approximately 95% capacity.”

“And the transmitter? What about that?”

“Scribe  Haylen has been able to attach it and we will be contacting the  Prydwen at the beginning of the week.”

They were both silent for a moment, waiting for the other to start. Danse heard as Anna drew in a sharp breath and braced for pain. He waited, ready for her to hurl insults, disgust and vitriol.

“I’m sorry Danse. I’m so, so sorry.”

His grip tightened on the wrench, nearly pulling the lamp off in surprise.

“Excuse me?” 

“I’m so sorry Danse. I shouldn’t have done that to you. It was wrong to work off the Psycho that way.”

Danse couldn’t remember the last time he had been hit in the gut this hard. She was  _ sorry _ ? What in the world did she have to  _ apologize _ for? He was the one who should have kept his cool, kept a straight head, kept in control.

“I just....” She filled his stunned silence, happy for the time to get out her stream of consciousness. “I was scared. I couldn’t think past making sure you were alive... that you were okay but I could still hear the engine in my ears. How did... how did you survive the test fire?”

He clanked the wrench against the frame of his armor as an answer. He still couldn’t seem to work his voice past the lump in his throat. How could she feel guilty about any of this? It was all his fault. He should have known. Should have insisted she stay back.

Anna took a few steps towards the power armor station, one hand extended as if she was soothing a wild animal. Maybe the comparison was accurate; he certainly felt wild, untamed and uncontrolled around her.

“My lord Puppy. You’re thinking too hard.” The fondness in her voice brought tears to his eyes. It was too much and he turned away, like she had struck him.

“Please don’t.” She stopped, frozen in place at the small way his voice came out. 200 pounds of muscle cowering behind the tin can of his power armor like it could protect him from the touch of a woman half his size.

“I just.... I hurt you, Anna. I hurt you in a way no one should hurt another person. I don’t know how you can stand to be in the same building as me let alone the same room.”

She laughed, a warm, hearty sound and he felt a few of the shards of  ice left in his heart melt. It was the same laugh she used when he was being silly, the same one he had heard the night before the attack when she had stopped him from pleasuring her.

“Pup. I was as high as Tenpenny Towers.” He snorted softly at the thought. “You couldn’t have gotten through to me and... well that’s my fault. I should have kept a clearer head. I should have been... better for you.”

Danse felt his world shift sideways for the second time in as many days. All of this was his fault, his problem, and here she was taking blame and promising to absolve him of his guilt. If only he would reach out and take it.

Was he worthy? 

She stepped closer and Danse shied away, deeper into the corner, farther into hiding behind his armor. He managed to look at her, raising his eyes to hers for a second to see the flash of hopefulness replaced with the sadness of his rejection. Still she sighed and gave him a small smile.

“I'm not going anywhere Pup. You can keep hiding from me and the world down here. You can try to hide from the truth but this guilt over a situation you couldn't control will be your down fall. But you aren’t the only one. You have people under your command who need you. Don’t let them down.”

Anna’s smile turned sad as she spun on her heel and moved towards the door.

“Anna wait...” 

“ Hmmm....? ”

“I’m... I’m sorry.” She let out a small huff that could have either been laughter or disbelief.

“You are probably the best man I have ever met in the Brotherhood. How is it they have got their claws so deep in you Pup? It was my fault, not yours. I'm the one who needs forgiveness, not you. I'll keep trying to find ways to show you that..”

She didn’t turn back to him as she said it, instead choosing to continue up the stairs and let her voice echo down to him.

He awoke curled in Anna’s blanket, the bulk of his armor looming safely over top of him. It was probably the closest to happy he would get now and it all came crashing down around him as he roused to full consciousness. He still didn’t know what to think of the talk he and Anna had last night

She felt as if she was the one responsible.

How was that even possible?

He sighed deeply and stripped his jumpsuit to the waist before frowning down at the way his undershirt had started to hang loose. He had barely been eating over the past few days, taking only a few bites from each of the plates  Haylen had brought him and it was taking its toll. It was enough to quell the hunger pains but not enough to properly sustain him.

He deserved it, didn’t he? Anna had been on bed rest for a week and he hadn’t felt it right to eat or take care of himself properly when she couldn’t... Now that she was getting back to her feet, he could maybe force himself to choke down a few more bites each meal.

His feet were heavy as he came up the stairs, pushing the door open before being greeted with the scent of meat cooking and something frying. Mouth filling with saliva in response even though he wasn’t sure who was responsible.  Haylen was not skilled beyond heating rations and pre-war food while Rhys was far better at burning things than cooking them.

_ That could only mean... _

He stepped onward to the kitchen, following the sounds of sizzling and a soft voice singing along with the radio. He pushed open the door and peered in, guilt threatening to swell in his gut. She was still wearing the over-sized t shirt she had stolen from him and with her jeans he could only see the bruising on her wrist, yellow green with healing as she worked a makeshift spatula in one of the battered pans Haylen used to reheat their rations.

“Anna? What are you doing?”

“Cooking Pup. What does it look like?”

Something about her smile as she turned had him itching to reach out, to pull her to his chest and try to forget the entire incident. Each night in his dreams she held him close, cradled her head on her chest and combed her fingers through his hair.

Danse sighed at the thought and propped himself up against the salvaged table watching as she moved around the kitchen.

“What are you making?” Anna cracked a large smile, looking up from the pan to him.

“Hash. Fried  tato’s and  fixin’s . It’s good for you.” He could see the worry in her eyes as they scanned over him, focusing on the way that his shirt fell loose instead of hugging tightly as it did in the days before the ambush. She turned back to the pan and stirred again, humming as she went. It only took a few more minutes before she spooned him a plate and clicked off the hotplate, smiling as he took the first bite.

It was good. Salty, hearty, the meat in it tender and filling. Rhys filed in with  Haylen following quickly as both of them sniffed at the air. Anna spooned them out a plate before hauling herself up onto the counter with the slightest wince.

The trio ate silently, all of them surprised at the meal that had been presented. Breakfast on the  Prydwen had been a big affair but it was flavorless and bland, usually a gruel that would fuel the soldiers and scribes for the day. Anna had prepared something that they couldn’t even imagine.  Haylen was the one who spoke first.

“Where did you find the ingredients for this?”

“There is a small settlement close. I had some scrap I had been meaning to bring their way and I couldn’t sleep last night.” She looked to Danse quickly before picking a few pieces of the hash directly from the pan. 

The  scribe's eyes went wide. "You could've been hurt. You're still healing!"

Anna shrugged. "I've dealt with worse.  Plus, I couldn't deal with another morning of  Sugarbombs and water. And I figured that I may as well get a good meal into all of you. Still can’t believe that you would prefer to eat irradiated preservatives rather than something fresh like this.”"

Rhys shrugged, speaking around a mouthful of his breakfast. “In our defense the Brotherhood has never particularly focused on the luxury side of living.”

“Luxury?! Good food is a luxury Rhys?” She stumbled over his name but smiled at him warmly. Danse was happy to see that they were not at  each other's throats at this current moment.

“ Mmmm expecting it is. Don’t get me wrong. This is amazing and I'm enjoying it but none of us would ever expect it in the field.”

“You guys have been in the field for how long now? I can’t believe that none of you have even tried for better cooking.” She shook her head as she slipped from the counter top and grabbed Danse’s empty plate, piling another serving of hash on before she passed it back to him with a warm smile. “Well I guess I will just have to be the one to cook until I go.”

She patted him on the arm and ate a few more bites from the pan before moving out the door frame and back to her room.

Haylen looked to him and smiled at the way he shoveled the food into his mouth.

“How long do you think we're  gonna get cooking like this  Haylen ? How long do you think we can keep her here?” Rhys spooned a few more heaps of hash onto his plate as he looked to the scribe with hope in his eyes.

“What's this now, you made a friend? Is it really that easy for someone to break through that icy exterior Rhys? Just cook you a good meal?”

Danse laughed along with the two of them, as if the ambush had not occurred and he hadn’t been a shadow of himself for the past week. It was normal, nice.

_ Could it really be like this? Could she actually forgive him for the line he had crossed? _

_ Could he forgive himself?  _

After he finished eating, Danse moved back to the Motorcade, slipping into the now improved cooling inside his suit. He always felt better, more prepared for the world when he had the bulk of it under his feet, encasing his arms. The muscle he had lost in the past week was more noticeable when he could no longer feel the frame pressed comfortably against his chest.

Instead of stomping his way through the station, he moved to the garage entrance and started his rounds, checking the perimeter and sending a few blasts to scare away the crows that seemed to loom in ever gathering forces.

Even with the flock gone, he still felt eyes on him and clicked on the advanced scanning function he had installed with recent repairs. There were a few dogs around the corner, giving chase to a  radroach . A group of  ferals in a building approximately 800 yards away. A drifter off in the distance. Nothing that should have his senses kicking up for a fight, nothing that was a threat to him or the station.

He paced in circles, lost in thought as he considered all the angles. Everything about this last week was insanity and he was baffled. Anna was crazy if she thought that he was completely faultless. He would never say it out loud to her but she was right; the Psycho was actually the biggest blame here. That chem had been the fuel that had brought them both past the point of no return. Still, she hadn’t been the one to toss her against the wall. She hadn’t broken her own ribs.

However, part of what she was saying was true.

He had people under his command who needed him and over the past 7 days, he had been less than command material. It was shameful and something he needed to remedy immediately.

Looking for the source of his anxiety but coming up with nothing, he tried to shrug it off as he opened the doors to the police station. Rhys and  Haylen jumped apart, the scribe's cheeks a dark blush as she turned to some of the tech set out on her work station and began to fiddle with it. Danse cleared his throat.

“ Haylen I need to speak to you.”

He watched as her eyes went wide and it dawned on him what that request may look like in her current situation. Removing the helmet of his power armor, Danse tried to smile at her in reassurance. Rhys only moved back to his work station and started typing away at his terminal.

“Sir?”  Haylen’s spoke as she approached and he waved her into the kitchen to continue.

“I want to apologize. For my behavior over the last week. It has been unprofessional to say the least.”

“ _ Oh! _ Th-thank you Sir. I don’t know what to say.”

He shrugged inside the metal, the movement only translating a little to the shoulders of his armor. “You don’t have to say anything soldier. I just wanted to apologize and inform you it won’t happen again.”

He smiled, clapped her gently on the back before moving out to the main room. He unlocked the latches on his armor and winced at the feeling of grime on his skin. He hadn’t taken the time since before the ambush to bathe and now that he had been snapped from his daze, Danse could feel the sweat and filth that covered him from head to toe.

Anna cracked the door as he passed on his way to the washroom and smiled brightly.

“ Mmm Hello there  Dansey .  Whacha doin ’?”

He stopped dead in his tracks and felt the wave of guilt wash over him again, lessened a bit by the way her smile warmed him.

He could feel the way heat rose to his cheeks as he thought about bathing. Would she offer to help? It seemed like something Anna would do but he didn’t think that he could deal with the heat he already felt in her gaze.

“I...  uhhh ... I need to bathe.”

Her eyes lit up but she just worried her bottom lip, looking over him.

“I have something for that  Dansey Pants.” She disappeared from the door frame, the sound of her pack scraping on the floor as she dragged it before crouching down to dig through. A fully wrapped bar of soap and a clean rag was pressed into his hands. “ Squeaky clean.” She just waved at him and smiled, letting him drift off towards the staff washroom

The police station had been the perfect place to set up and with only a little bit of work they had been able to establish running water within a few days of arriving. It was one of the few luxuries that he ever afforded himself before getting lost in the spicy sweet scent of the soap Anna had gifted him. He untied the arms of his jumpsuit and wrinkled his nose as the fabric peeled away from his legs.

Starting the water and letting it run a few moments until it was clear while allowing the heater that they had installed to start up was meditative. Stepping under the spray, Danse sighed happily as some of the grime was immediately washed from his skin. Lathering the gifted bar between his hands was wonderful, silky and smooth in a way the Brotherhood issued chips of soap never had been.

Steam started to build up in the small tiled cell and the spicy sweet scent began to fill his senses, clouding his head.

_ God _ _ I hate myself. All I can think about is the way her skin smelled. _

He ran his hands over his arms, letting the suds he had worked up between them scrub away the sweat there. Sweat they had built up together.

Anna was everywhere; in his nose, in his mind, he could almost taste her on his tongue.

It was torture. Danse looked down his body, watching as the water ran in rivulets down his chest. He sighed to himself and worked the soap over his abdomen, groaning as another wave of spicy sweet washed away the grime and sweat and thoughts of shame.

Maybe Anna was right. She often was....

He played over the night before the ambush, how she had curled onto his chest like a kitten. How she had run her fingers through his chest hair and hummed softly until she had fallen asleep in his arms. He had just traced the soft outline of her body against his until he joined her.

He ran the bar of soap over his thighs and legs, bending to scrub all the dirt and grime away, down the drain. The spicy sweet of the soap did nothing to explain the scent of Fancy Lads that he also associated with Anna and he groaned, thinking how that must just be her. Her own personal sweetness. A treat that would delight his every sense.

Fuck. 

Every time he thought about her, his body responded. He wanted her touch again, brain screaming at him for the way he had recoiled last night. He should have let her reach out and touch him. Everything was so much simpler when she took control, when she touched him and made the world go blank.

She was perfect...  chems ... no  chems , he no longer cared. He just wanted her back. Wanted to feel the warmth that she spread through his entire body. Wanted to watch the smile spread across her face as he looked up to her from his knees.

His cock twitched to life at the thought, and he wrapped a soapy hand around himself as he hardened. God no matter how much he had hurt her, he still couldn’t get the thought out of his head. He wanted her. He wanted her more than he had ever wanted anything in his life.

Water beat down on his shoulders as he stroked over his hardening cock. His hand didn’t feel anywhere near as good as her body had; no matter how wrong it had been and how guilty he felt over it, he couldn’t deny the way she had shuddered around his cock. Disgust at himself curled low in his gut but he didn’t want to stop, didn’t want to give up that small kernel of pleasure. It was the first time in a week he had allowed any sort of relief from his  self-induced punishment

Danse shuddered again, toes curling as he worked himself up. Thinking about Anna, the way she felt, the wonderful way she would tug at his hair and whisper to him. His fist would never feel as good as she did, would never compare to the sensations she was able to wring out of him.

“God... Anna...” His head fell back, fantasizing about her on her knees in front of him. Water dripping from her thick lashes and running over her full lips. Mouth open, tongue lolled out as she laughed at him, at his efforts to bring himself off.

_ Come on, Pup.... Right on my face. You  _ _ wanna _ _ mark your territory, don’t you? Filthy little boy, fantasizing about the worst things. _

He shuddered as the heat started curling deep in his gut. Yes, he did. God, he wanted to splash his mark all over her face, wanted to watch her lick it up, all the depraved things he could think of. Danse grunted as his hand sped up, teasing himself closer to his peak, thinking of Anna stealing kisses from his open mouth as his hips worked up into her desperately.

He needed her, he couldn’t live without her at this point and it stopped him dead in his tracks, water dripping from his aching cock as the realization hit him. He wasn’t entirely sure if it was love but he wasn’t willing to know she was somewhere out there in the wasteland and that he had just let her walk away.

He quickly toweled off before wrapping the threadbare cloth around his hips, erection flagging as the rough fabric rubbed against it. Quickly he gathered his dirty uniform and made his way down the hall, stopping in front of the door to let out a nervous breath before knocking.

Anna opened it and he watched as her eyes widened, taking in the way that water still dripped from his hair and down his chest.

“What’s up Pup?” Her voice was just a little broken,  hungry, and for once he was able to pick up on it; the way she looked at him, the clear want in her eyes.

“I’m sorry Ma’am.” 

“ Wha -”

She didn’t have a chance to finish the thought as he crowded into her space, pushing his way into the room and pressing his lips to hers as if he would never get another chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY. I promise no more angst. I promise the next chapter will be Smuff (smut and fluff) 5000+ words of smuff!  
> \-------------------------------------------------------------  
> As always Kudos and comments are appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Was that so hard, Pet? That’s all I wanted. Just to talk about that. That’s it. And you were so good for me. The perfect soldier.” His heart soared. Yes, he was if she thought he was, that was all that mattered. 
> 
> “No Ma’am, not hard. May I have my reward now?” Anna tugged on his hair so their eyes met before she kissed him softly. 
> 
> “Ohhhh soo polite! Of course, you may! Tell me what you would like Pup.” 
> 
> The Paladin’s mouth was dry, pink tongue darting out to uselessly attempt at wetting his chapped lips. He wanted to feel her mouth wrapped around him but to actually say it out loud? He wasn’t sure.

Anna let out a soft squeak of surprise as Danse crashed their lips together and gathered her into his arms.

“Pup...Puppy...Baby... please.” Every time the Paladin broke away, she was able to get out one more word before he descended again. Danse’s hands fell from her face to her shoulders, skimming gently down the line of her arms as he turned them and pressed her back against the door.

Anna’s lips were so soft underneath his, opening when he pressed his tongue at the seam and delved further. He couldn’t believe he was allowed to push as he was doing, to press them together as he had so badly wanted to since she came swinging wildly into his life; to delve into her mouth and feel her melt under his touch.

One large hand came back up to her face, tilting her head so he could have better access. The other  skimed down her side, tugging her leg upward and hooking it over his hip before he lifted her against the door and wrapped both of her legs around him. They broke apart after a moment, both breathless as Danse rested their foreheads together.

“Sorry Ma’am I just... I missed you.”

Her laugh was soft over his face. “I haven’t gone anywhere Paladin. You were the one who was MIA.” His heart clenched at the fond way she spoke his title, washing away the acid that had burnt a hole in his being since she last spat the word.

“I know Baby. I’m sorry. I... I thought I had hurt you, I thought I had...”

“ Shhhhh shhh .” The fingers of one hand ran through his hair, tucking his face against her neck while Anna dragged the nails of her other hand gently across his shoulders and down his back. He did manage to catch the fond way the corners of her mouth curled upwards at the endearment. “You don’t have to say it. Cause it didn’t happen.”

He nodded against her neck, nuzzling into her skin, the soft spicy scent of the soap that clung to both of them mixed with the intoxicating sweetness of Fancy Lads and woman that was uniquely Anna. He lapped at it, tasting her and letting his senses drink in their fill.

Nodding, Danse let himself get lost in the feel of her weight against him. She's so small; he thought as he pulled back to look at her face, before he took one hand and pushed his fingers under the hem line on her borrowed shirt. His cock twitched back to life at the contrast of her waist under his large hand, the paleness of her skin compared to his own. Anna shivered under his touch, breath catching in her throat as she surged forward and caught his lips in another kiss.

She broke away from him, a little breathless, and smiled that sweet smile that had his cock thickening in interest.

“ Wanna put me down  Dansey ? We have to... at least  kinda talk.” The Paladin whined in response, burying his face back into her neck as he pressed his erection against her.

“I don’t want to talk....” 

“Danse.” 

A shiver shot down his spine at her tone. He couldn’t help the way his hands wandered to her ass to rock them together even as his body tried to fall to parade rest.

“Yes Ma’am.” 

“Carry me to the bed.” 

Strong fingers laced into his hair, pulling him away from her neck before she sat up and away from the wall. It pushed the hardness of his cock against her sensitive core and they both whined. Even with the mass he had lost over the past week of starvation, Anna was nothing in his arms as he stepped backwards until his knees hit the bed. With a smirk, he hitched her a little higher and sat down.

He could almost see the fire of desire flare up in Anna’s eyes.

“You’re such a fucking show off.” She said it with a smile as she set her teeth into his shoulder, gently testing the muscle.

“Only for you Ma’am.” 

“Flattery will not get you out of this Pup.” 

A soft smile started to spread across his face at the way she wouldn’t meet his eyes. Maybe they could get back to before without talking too much, he just had to find a way to distract her.

“But it’s true Ma’am. When I'm around you, I can’t stop myself. Can’t help myself. I want you to notice me. Want to be a good boy.”

Anna's eyes softened, just like he predicted and he pushed further, both hands slipping under the worn fabric of her shirt to skim the back of his knuckles along her sides.

“I can’t control myself around you. That first night you walked in on me? I didn’t even believe you were real...”

“Oh?” 

Her skin was so soft underneath his gun calloused fingertips. He could hear the interest in her voice, feel it in the way she resettled herself into his lap, against his hardening cock. The rough material of the towel was torture but it would help him to focus. Now that he had her, he couldn’t believe he had forced her away for an entire week. He needed to be as near as possible; to feel the closeness and forgiveness she was offering.

Danse dipped his head into the crook of her neck, nuzzling the fabric aside and pressing wet kisses to the muscles there.

“Yes. I was already thinking about you.” He felt her pulse speed up under his lips and she shivered.

“Tell me.” He groaned, a raspy sound, and licked a wet stripe up her neck to her ear. 

“In my room, when you told me to take the night off? I was rock hard in my suit. I can’t explain it, Ma’am. It brought me back to being a teen. I had an instructor as an initiate who would say that....” Danse could feel the color rising to his cheeks but the way Anna wiggled was reward enough to continue.

“When you walked in on me? Fuck. I nearly came on the spot from the shame and thrill of being caught. When you told me that you wanted to watch?” Anna giggled at the way his cock twitched in response to that thought. “All I wanted was for you on top of me, exactly like you are now. I want you to ride me until I can feel you explode Anna. I want you to _ use _ me.”

Anna drew in a shuddering breath as his hands continued upwards while he talked, skimming the skin on her ribs delicately before letting his fingers roam over her small breasts, rolling her nipples gently between his fingers. She let out the softest moan before pushing back against his arms.

“You’re really tempting fate here Pup. Be good.”

With a slight huff, he laid his hands on her thighs and pressed his fingers gently into the muscle there, smiling up at her.

“I am being good Ma’am.” She laughed, tossing her head back before she caught him in another kiss. Fingertips skimed down his arms until she gripped his wrists, pressing the palms of his hands to the bed with the soft command of ‘Stay’ uttered against his lips.

He complied and watched as Anna reach down and pulled the bottom of her t-shirt up and over her head. Danse let out a choked sound as his fingers flexed uselessly into the mattress.

He watched as Anna caught her bottom lip between crooked teeth and giggled down at him. “Can you do what I ask Baby? If you’re the best boy ever I’ll give you whatever you want...” He nodded eagerly and Anna dropped a soft kiss to the stubble on his cheek.

“I want you to listen Pup. When  Haylen clears me.... I have to leave for a bit. I’m no good at sticking in one place for long and I do  got's a few things to check on.” His eyes went sad as he felt terror start to eat at the edges of his mind. He had just gotten her back in his arms, how could she leave again? She laughed, clearly able to read the panic in his expression.

“I'm  gonna come back Sweet Baby! See?! This is why I said you had to listen!” She tapped him on the nose and he felt the fists his hands had curled into relax slightly. “Can you promise me you won’t let yourself go? I don’t want to come back and find my best boy a shadow of a man ever again. I never want to see you hiding behind your armor. I promise you as long as I’m still walking, I will come back.”

His heart clenched. “It’s dangerous Anna... Can’t you stay here? Where it’s safe?”

Her eyes softened, almost watery when she met his gaze. “Danse. Sweet Baby. I grew up by the Capitol. You know how much rougher life is down there. I can take care of myself.”

His fingers flexed into the mattress again and before he knew it, his hands were on her hips holding her close as he buried his face into her chest. “I know... But...”

“ Shhhhh Shhh Sweetness. It’s okay. I won’t be leaving for at least a few days. We can probably find a way for radio transmissions. I  _ am _ pretty handy with tech.” She lifted her wrist and shook the  PipBoy on it. “We can work something out.” The fingers that worked their way through his still damp locks were so soothing, driving some of the fear out of him as he inhaled her calming scent and nodded.

“Okay.” She hummed, singing soft notes to him as his heart rate came down, nuzzling into her chest and getting as much of her deep into his senses as he could.

“Was that so hard, Pet? That’s all I wanted. Just to talk about that. That’s it. And you were  ** so ** good for me. The perfect soldier.” His heart soared. Yes, he was if she thought he was, that was all that mattered.

“No Ma’am, not hard. May I have my reward now?” Anna tugged on his hair so their eyes met before she kissed him softly.

“ Ohhhh soo polite! Of course, you may! Tell me what you would like Pup.”

The Paladin’s mouth was dry, pink tongue darting out to uselessly attempt at wetting his chapped lips. He wanted to feel her mouth wrapped around him but to actually say it out loud? He wasn’t sure.

“Please Ma’am... I want...” Anna’s lips were mere inches from his as she raised up on her knees, cupping the hardness of his erection. “I want...”

“Tell me Pumpkin. Tell me what you want.”

Her mouth slipped from his and traced a gentle path down his neck. He ground her down on the hardness of his erection, uncaring of how she touched him, only that she did.

Anna sucked gentle marks into the skin of his chest, dragging her nails over his back as she wiggled on top of him.

“Please Ma’am...” She laughed and Danse couldn’t stop the whine from escaping his throat as she stood and tugged the ends of the towel from his hips. His cock bobbed in the air, the head nearing a flushed purple from arousal as precum beaded to the tip.

“My word  Dansey . Look at you.  Sooo fucking beautiful, just weeping for me.” She reached out and wrapped her hand around him, giggling at the sob of pleasure Danse let out as he nearly came on the spot from her touch. He had already been close when he had been stroking himself in the shower and now, he saw stars as he tried to pant and breathe away his orgasm.

“P-Please Ma’am... Need...  _ ahhhhh _ ...  _ fuuuck _ please. I want to feel your mouth.” It came out in a rush of breath as Anna crouched between his thighs, the look in her eyes hungry. She gently stroked him as she leaned over and lapped at the tip as Danse clapped a hand over his mouth, muffling the needy moan. It was amazing, better than he could have imagined as she stretched her lips around his girth, taking what she could and working the rest of him with her fist.

“God Anna... You have no clue... This is amazing! God... please Ma’am....” She pulled off him with a pop before running her tongue up the sensitive underside.

“You’re huge Pup...  Gonna make my jaw ache with this. You’ve been thinking about it haven’t you? Shoving my mouth down on this monster cock. Bet you  wanna see if you can get it bulging from my throat...” She took him as deep as she could and he bit into his fist, using the pain to control himself. He hadn't even considered it possible but now he couldn't get the image from his mind

“Yes Ma’am. All. Ha.... all I have thought about has been you.” The pleasure was curling low in his gut and he tried to stop the way his hips flexed, inching ever closer to his release. “Anna... An. If you don’t stop, I’m  gonna - _ Fuck _ -I'm  gonna cum!”

Her fingers formed a tight circle around the base of his cock, Anna pulling back suddenly to watch as he twitched and dripped, air punched out of him at being so close and refused.

“Stop pouting Puppy. You will get what you want... Just  wanna feel it inside me first. Can you do that? Be good and hold off till you’re deep inside me?” Danse twitched again in response and she laughed, holding him tight until he nodded and blew out a long breath. She quickly snapped open the button of her jeans, letting the loose material fall from her hips.

She was so tiny, ribs showing beneath barely  there breasts, hip bones jutting out and begging for him to lay kisses there. Over top of everything was a light dusting of wiry muscle, long faded scars crisscrossing her legs as well as the scars everyday life in the Wastes brought about.

“Your beautiful.” 

He smiled at the way her blush started from her chest, rising up to her cheeks and spreading almost to her navel. Anna crawled over the mattress next to him and gave Danse the view he loved most; her pert ass, cheeks leading down to creamy thighs. The way her damp lips caught the light in the room as it glistened off her pulled a deep growl from him.

“I want to make you feel good Ma’am... Please?”

Anna laid back and nodded, letting out a small squeak of surprise when he suddenly gripped her thighs and pulled her down the bed, mouth falling on her clit like it was the last thing he would ever do. She tasted amazing, running the flat of his tongue up her slit before gently circling the hardening nub of her clit with the tip.

Her fingers laced into his hair pulling him from her body as he growled. Couldn’t she see he was busy?

“Lay on your back Pup.” She tugged his hair again to get his attention, his eyes darted between hers and her glistening core. He shook his head in her grip, surging forward to flick his tongue at her clit and devour her like he desired. Anna’s thighs closed around his head when he hit the right rhythm, trailing a finger up the inside of her thigh.

She tried to tug him from her core again, but the Paladin just buried his face deeper, lapping at her and holding her against his mouth as she squirmed in delight.

Anna sucked in a sharp breath, grinding her hips against him as she tugged his hair to direct his tongue. “ _ Ohhhhh _ that’s a good boy. Yes. _ Fuck _ . You’re  gonna need to take your time. Stretch me out for that monster cock of yours.” He chuckled against her, the vibrations thrumming along her body. She was so wet, breath catching as he pressed the digit inside her. Rocking back and forth as he seemed to pull the moans from her.

His cock throbbed, heavy and hot between his legs but Danse just traced his tongue over Anna again and again. She keened and her back arched, happily wiggling her hips down on his finger as he brushed over her g spot.

“ Ohhh yes Baby...  _ More _ …. Please Pup. More. Give me more. I have been thinking about that thick cock for days. My fingers don’t fill me up the way yours do .”

He wasn’t going to last, not at the rate her words unraveled him. Danse added a second finger, pumping them shallowly in and out until she was thrusting back. Then he pushed deeper, twisting and scissoring her open as she shuddered.

“ Ohhhh gods Baby. Yes. Like that...” She was already tightening on his two digits and Danse sucked her clit into his mouth, curling the tips of his fingers over and over into the rough patch of her g-spot. Anna’s back arched as she moaned his name, body tensing up before she exploded on his fingers. Danse gently worked her through it, watching the way her body twisted and flushed. He pressed one last soft kiss to her clit as she calmed down.

“You are so beautiful Anna. Have you seen how you look when you cum? How....God woman. I don’t even have words.” Her blushed deepened at his praise before she giggled.

“Look  who's talking Puppy. Never ridden such a pretty face.” His eyebrows shot up slightly before he recovered and kissed the tender skin of her inner thigh. Anna whined as he pulled back to remove his fingers. “ Noooo . No Pup. We aren’t done. I want that cock. Another.” She nodded down at his fingers, tugging his hair so his head was laying on her thigh.

She shuddered and keened when he started moving again, Danse moaning in response.

“Anna... Baby Please....” Listening to the wet happy sound her body made as his fingers thrust in and out of her was music, the lyrics were her moans of more and the crescendo was the high keen as he added a third digit. Her body gripped his fingers, her face tight as she adjusted with a shiver.

“ _ Fffffffuck _ that’s a lot....” He watched her for any sign of discomfort, but she just bit her lip and ground down hard in a way that had his cock twitching between his thighs. From his experience, most women needed prep to take him but not a single woman he had bedded had been as small as Anna, He knew that he had hurt her the first time and now was determined to make sure that never happened again.

He wanted to be inside her more than he wanted to breathe but he refused to cause any more pain. Anna shuddered as she blew out a long breath and tugged on his hair, bringing his attention back up.

“Lay on your back Pup.” He pulled his fingers from her, unable to refuse the call to lick her juices from them as he shifted his weight back onto the bed. Her eyes were glued to the movement as she climbed into his lap, grabbed his wrist and pulled them from his mouth. “Filthy fucking Paladin. You  wanna fuck me Paladin?  Wanna pound up into me until you explode? Fill me up?”

She settled one of his hands on her hip before grabbing for the other, letting him hold her up as she brushed her wet lips over the head of his cock. Danse swallowed around the lump in his throat, head nodding violently in agreement.

“Yes... Please Ma’am. Please I want... I need to be inside you.”

Wet heat surrounded the head of his cock and before he had a chance to say anything else, Danse felt all coherent thought fly from his head. The world focused down to the way she engulfed him, the sounds Anna let out as gravity speared her on the length of his cock. The muscles in his forearms tensed as he fought the urge to pull her down until she was completely seated.

“My lord, woman... I’m not... Fuck! You’re so fucking tight!” Anna’s breath caught in her throat as she focused on relaxing her muscles and taking him deeper.

“I’m tight? You’re fucking huge!” She released his wrists, one hand flying to his shoulder and gripping tight enough that her nails cut small half-moon marks into his skin. The other went to her clit, rubbing gentle circles to soothe herself as she took another inch of him. Danse groaned at the image, her body gripping his cock as he pulled back and rocked back inside her slowly.

Her legs were shaking from effort and Anna cursed as her muscles refused to relax. He gripped her hips tight and gently raised her off his cock before settling her in his lap again. Anna rubbed her wet slit along the length of him and Danse groaned at the heat.

“It’s okay Ma’am. I can... We don’t have to....”

Anna slipped from his lap and settled back on the bed before reaching for one of his wrists. Danse followed her, stretching the bulk of his body over top of hers and settling between her legs.

“I know we don’t have to but I want to. I want to feel  you cum deep inside me.” Anna rubbed herself along him again and giggled as his hips stuttered and tried to seek her out. One small hand wrapped around the base of his cock and guided him back to the wet entrance of her body.

“Okay Danse. Nice and slow. I want you so deep that I can feel it for days.” He nodded and flexed, mouth dropping open as he pressed forward. Anna squirmed on him, huffing and panting each time he pushed deeper.

“ Gooooooods Yes Danse.... Fuck... That’s good. So full.”

He had to stop, to think of his training and battle tactics to stop from exploding inside her. Anna let out a needy whine and started to rock herself along his length, taking him deeper each time she moved.

“Yes...  Ohhh yes baby. So good. So good for me...  Soooooo fucking full.” She shivered again and Danse gritted his teeth against the waves of pleasure it sent rippling along his cock. Close. So close. Every thrust she made, he met with a push of his hips and soon they were seated together, a light sheen of sweat covering both of their bodies.

“God damn....” 

“ _ Yeah _ ”

The way the word washed over him when she said it, awe and pleasure mixing together, was like pouring fuel on the fire. He buried his face into her neck, sucking marking bruises on to the column of flesh as he gently flexed inside of her. Her gasp was music and Danse moaned with her as he dragged the head of his cock slowly back out of her.

Heat and pleasure were curling low in his gut; the spicy sweet scent of the sweat of her skin driving him higher as he fucked into her. Anna was babbling in his ear, telling him how good he was, how big he was, how she was going to explode.

He wouldn’t be able to hold off much longer, his orgasm starting to barrel towards him as his balls drew up tight.

“Anna... Ma’am... I’m...  _ fuck _ ... I’m  gonna cum...”

She shuddered as the words left his mouth and dragged her short nails harshly up his back.

“ Yeeeees Pet.... Fuck yes... Fill me up... Please Puppy. I wanna feel it...”

His teeth clamped down gently on her shoulder, holding her in place as his hips stuttered up into her, groaning as his world sank down to emptying himself. Wave after wave washed over him and he tried to wrap his arms around her, pushing himself as deep as he could go.

_ Finally.  _

The world was silent, his brain was blissfully quiet in a way it had not been all week. Anna was dragging her fingers slow through his hair as he breathed her in, the scent of them together. Happiness had started to return to him as he held her close and rolled them both, still joined together.

Anna giggled, then sighed, settling against his chest as he ran his hands up and down the curvature of her back, focusing on the swell of her ass.

“Show off.” He kissed the top of her head gently and smiled.

“Yes Ma’am.” He could feel her smile as she rubbed her nose into the hair on his chest, humming softly.

“Good. I like it.” Danse’s broad face broke into a wide smile as his heart sped up.

“Thank you, Baby.”

“Pass me the screwdriver.” Danse pressed the small tool into her hand as she looked deep into the wiring of her PipBoy. Haylen had cleared her to leave two days ago and still she hung around, determined to get the radio transmissions between her  PipBoy and his helmet just right.

Tucking his chin onto her shoulder, Danse peered down to watch as her hands worked away before turning his face in and kissing the tender flesh under her ear.

Anna’s pleased giggle had him wrapping his arms tighter around her waist to hold her closer. This simple happiness couldn't last forever and Danse grumbled at the ping he could hear coming from his helmet as she punched in a few commands.

“There we go. Now I can ping you to talk whenever I need to Pup.” Laying the open Pip on the desk in front of them she twisted in his lap and laid a gentle kiss to the scar on his brow.

“Still don’t want you to go Hun. This is better than nothing but you are reckless in battle. I would feel better if I could protect you.”

Anna shifted her weight to properly look him in the face before dropping a kiss to his lips.

“You worry too much Sweetness. Half the time I avoid most things... Only reason I have to deal with the baddies is cause you and your giant tin can can’t keep quiet.”

The Paladin smiled and pressed them closer together, nosing his way down her neck before sucking a dark red bruise above her collarbone for all to see. “That tin can has save me more times than I can count. I think you should give it the praise it deserves.”

“ Oh, should I?” Anna slid from his lap with a dangerous sparkle in her eye. Snatching the helmet from the desk as she moved, Danse watched when she went over and walked her fingers up the chest plate.

“I  dunno Dansey Pants. I like the man in the can much better.” She tossed him the helmet before she stepped into her jeans, pulling them up over her hips in a smooth motion. With a sigh she tugged on her newly constructed chest armor, glaring at him as she did. “Still need to test it. But piggybacking off the long-range transmitter should make distance a non-issue. And if you are a good boy when I come back maybe I will let you stroke your cock while I sit on your face.”

The Paladin’s eyebrows shot up in shock as Anna slipped out the door to the motorcade and disappeared with a giggle into the wasteland beyond.

Danse just shook his head and unlatched the back of his power armor, stepping inside before he aligned the helmet and the display clicked on.

Anna had not been lying when she claimed she was handy with tech, even the edges of his display had been cleaned up, read outs  cyrstal clear. Every system read at 98% capacity, higher than he had been able to get it in years.

Following her out into the world was easy, but finding her had become a game they enjoyed playing as they had tested the upgrades. His helmet pinged as she switched on the scanner.

“So, Pup, can you see me?” Her voice was crystal clear as he scanned the surrounding buildings. “Northeast of the station approximately 800 feet out? How did you get so far so fast?”

Anna giggled again and he could hear the way she was shrugging. “I told you Pup. I can take care of myself.”

His heart clenched slightly but it was overwhelmed by relief, knowing that she wasn’t lying to him. She looked to be approaching a small group of ferals before suddenly stopping and skirting wide.

“Good girl.” Her chuckle echoed back over the line and Danse could feel the heat as blood rushed to his face. He hadn’t meant for that to be out loud.

“ Ohhhh Puppy. You  wanna play like that? If so, you're really gonna have to earn it...”


	7. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “PEOPLE OF THE COMMONWEALTH. DO NOT INTERFEAR. OUR INTENTIONS ARE PEACEFUL. WE ARE THE BROTHERHOOD OF STEEL.” 

It was over, or at least as over as she could imagine it. She hadn’t expected a  scavving trip into a deep underground vault to turn into what it had. That  holotape . The cries of that poor baby echoing in the vault's frozen halls. It’s father, lying dead between the generators, completely unprepared for the wasteland he had been walking out into in search for his child. Killed by a fucking  Radroach of all things. All of it weighed heavily on her mind as she approached the dying bald mercenary.

He laughed, a hollow sound and the dog Valentine had brought along growled at her side when he tried to move forward.

“Where is the kid? What did you do with it?”

Kellogg laughed as she stepped closer and slammed the heavy tip of her bat down on his kneecap.

“ANSWER ME!!!” He only reached for his sidearm, Dogmeat lunging out to grab his arm before she swung out and let one of the  blades she had attached dig deep into his brain. Anna sneered in disgust, planting her boot into his chest and jerking her weapon back hard.

Kellogg’s skull peeled open like an overripe melon and she squinted at the way something glittered inside the gory contents. She tucked the blood covered component into the side pocket of her pack unwilling to dirty the rest of her things.

“So  Pup’n’Stuff ? What do you think? I know one person who could take a look at this and if that happens I gotta go somewhere I don’t want to.”

Dogmeat only let out a confused whine in response.

“Yeah. That’s what I was thinking too. But I still don’t think I could get away with it. Come on. Let’s go see what the Brave Little Toaster has to say about it all.”

She whistled softly and Dogmeat came to her side as they moved over to the rooftop exit. Anna blinked away the harsh sunlight and dropped to a defensive crouch as she heard the sound of engines overhead.

“PEOPLE OF THE COMMONWEALTH. DO NOT INTERFEAR. OUR INTENTIONS ARE PEACEFUL. WE ARE THE BROTHERHOOD OF STEEL.”

Anna stood slowly, glaring at the blimp and  vertibirds circling around it like  bloatflys before she sighed and leaned down enough to scratch Dogmeat behind the ears.

“Well  Puppers . We  got’s somewhere to go first it looks like. Yes, we do! Yes, we do!” He wagged his tail happily and leaned against her leg as Anna flipped through the menus on her  PipBoy until she got to the radio transmission screen. She pinged Danses’ frequency and waited patiently.

“Yes Ma’am?” “Hey there  Dansey Pants. Looks like we need to have a chat. Brought some friends in without telling me did’ja?”

She laughed at the way she could hear him swallow over the airwaves.

“ Oh don’t worry Pup. I’m not mad... Just very interested in meeting Maxson. Again.”

** Fin **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We will be back eventually with the sequel "If It Ain't Got That Swing." I hope everyone enjoyed it

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> So I have been working on this and I have a few chapters done. It may also continue after the end of this but For once I actually have a set plot and idea for this before I started.  
> \---------------------------------  
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated and stay safe out there people. Wash your hands and don't horde toilet paper.


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